Bleach: Salvation
by Saddlebags
Summary: An Arrancar simply known as Keiyaku, appears in the Soul Society during the Arrancar invasion. He quickly becomes public enemy number one to the Soul Society. What are his real intentions, and where did he come from? How will Ichigo react to this new threat? Ichihime more pairings later.
1. Chapter 1

Bleach: Salvation

Revised 12/3/14

_Thoughts/Memories_

"Speech"

"**Zanpakuto/Hollow Speech"**

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach… at all…. I just came up with Keiyaku and the Keshigomu's.

* * *

Chapter 1 So it begins

The Soul Society is normally a peaceful place, ever since Aizen's rebellion, though, tensions had been running high. This particular day, however, would cause that tension to burst into full-blown panic in the Soul Society. A day that would not only change the very future of the Soul Society, but the World of the Living and the Hollow's world known as Hueco Mundo.

It started as any day would, the Sun rose bringing light and warmth to everything it touched. The Seireitei was busy as ever, the Soul Reaper's ran about doing their various jobs that kept everything running in the Soul Society. The Captains of the Gotei 13 were with their squad's, preparing for the coming war with Aizen and his army of Arrancar's. Suddenly a tear in the fabric of reality appeared above the Seretei, shining a bright white light on everything around it. Then what looked like a comet covered in white fire shot out of the tear, heading right for the tower of squad one and, by extension, Head Captain Yamamoto.

Everyone in the Gotei 13 watched in horror as the comet streaked toward the tower, hoping that it would alter its course or be destroyed before it reached the tower. The Head Captain appeared in front of the comet with his sword drawn and in a defensive stance. Just as the comet was about to slam into him, he swung his Zanpakuto deflected the comet towards a forest in the distance. However, the Head Captain was also launched back into the tower by the comet, causing an explosion of dust and debris to come from the tower. The comet continued to race towards the forest, after a moment or so it finally impacted and created a huge explosion to rip through the forest. The Gotei 13 stared in shock, each too stunned to know what to do. The Captains of the Gotei 13 were the first to recover, and began ordering their respective squads to follow them or to seek shelter in the barracks. While this was all happening, no one noticed that the light coming from the tear in reality started to fade as the tear closed.

Squad four's Captain Unohana used Flash Step to come to the aid of the Head Captain. When she finally reached the hole in the side of the building, stepping through the opening carefully she looked around to try and locate the Head Captain.

"Head Captain Yamamoto?!" She yelled into the dust filled hole.

"Uuuugghhh," the Head Captain grunted with effort as he lifted a large piece of rubble off himself. "I'm over here Captain Unohana, I'm fine."

Captain Unohana looked at him in relief, even though his clothes were burned and in tatters she could see that he didn't have any outward signs of damage.

"We need to locate where that comet landed," the Head Captain said, "It may have been an attack from Aizen intended to kill me."

"Captain's Kuchiki and Zaraki are already headed towards the crash site to see if there is anything left," she replied. The Head Captain nodded his head in understanding before turning to leave the room.

Captain's Kuchiki and Zaraki had finally managed to track down the exact location of the comet. Captain Kuchiki had ordered his squad to set up a perimeter around the still smoking crater of the comet from earlier. Captain Zaraki, however, had left his squad to fend for themselves, bringing only Yachiru with him. The way he saw it anything that had the power to knock down Old Man Yama was definitely worth fighting. The Captains strode forward, a little cautious of what they would find in the crater. The smoke of the crater finally started to disperse to reveal a figure at the bottom. It was a man with obsidian black hair with slight orange streaks running through it, he wore a white jacket and white pants but his shirt and boots were the same color black as his hair. His face was obscured by a bone white mask that covered the top half of his face; the mask resembled a human skull with a red circular marking at the center of the forehead. He had two swords that the Captains assumed to be Zanpakuto, one had a dark red hilt that was at the right side of his waist while the other had a sky blue hilt that was slung across his back with its hilt appearing over his right shoulder. To top off everything he wore scarlet colored scarf loosely around his neck. He definitely had all the indications of an Arrancar, a new enemy discovered by the Substitute Soul Reaper named Ichigo Kurosaki.

"Hey Kuchiki," Kenpachi said gaining the attention of the other Captain. Instead of speaking Byakuya just turned his eyes towards Kenpachi. "If this guy wakes up, I want to fight him, got it?" Byakuya just closed his eyes trying so hard not sigh out of exasperation. They both paused when they felt the Spiritual Pressure from the figure in the crater start to rise, signaling that he was waking up. Kenpachi grinned like a maniac as he noted that the spiritual pressure easily matched that of a Captain, he was going to enjoy this fight.

The figure finally moved, bringing an arm behind his head and bracing his other arm against the ground to help him get up he sat up slowly. Once he was sitting upright he recoiled slightly from the brightness of the morning sun he brought his hand up to shield his eyes. He then stood up and started to take in his surroundings, noting the forest and the crater he was in. Just as he was starting to look towards the two Captains, Kenpachi decided he had waited long enough. Yachiru sensed his anticipation and quickly hopped off of Kenpachi's back.

"Go get em Kenny!" She shouted enthusiastically.

"Wait!" Byakuya warned, but too late. Kenpachi launched himself at the man, blade drawn and aimed to take off his arm Kenpachi charged grinning madly. Just as the blade was about to meet flesh, the man lazily deflected Kenpachi's Zanpakuto with the back of his hand while he continued to look around. Kenpachi stared at the man now, confused as to why he was ignored so easily. Miffed, Kenpachi raised is sword again to slash the man across his back hoping to teach him that no one should ever ignore Kenpachi Zaraki. Again the man simply deflected the blade with the palm of his hand, causing the blade to whistle by him harmlessly, still taking in his surroundings without so much as glancing at Kenpachi.

Now visibly upset, Kenpachi roared at the young man, "ARE YOU GONNA LOOK AT TREES ALL DAY OR ARE WE GONNA FIGHT?!"

"Are you really so eager to fight?" he asked. His voice sounded a lot younger than he appeared to be, giving the impression that he was only in his late teens. It was a little disarming because of its warmth, but Aizen's betrayal was too fresh in everyone's memory so they did not allow themselves to be taken off guard by anything.

Kenpachi answered his question, "Yeah I am, so shut-up and fight," Kenpachi growled as he charged the boy once again.

The boy sighed tiredly, "Come on pops, I just woke up from a long trip. The least you could do is point me in the direction of a good Motel to stay at." Kenpachi ignored him and continued his charge.

* * *

Keiyaku could feel himself coming back into being, he wasn't sure if he was more surprised or grateful that he could feel that happening, even if it did hurt like hell. He'd done the impossible; he had survived the cleaner's impact inside the Senkaimon, traveled through time to desired point in time, and still had the energy to get up and keep going.

_I guess I'm a hard person to kill. Now the only question is… where am I?_ he thought to himself.

Keiyaku opened his eyes since waking up and was greeted by the harsh light of the Sun.

_I haven't seen you in a while, you'd think I'd be happier to see you, ya solar bastard, _Keiyaku thought viciously at the Sun. He slowly stood up and began to take in his surroundings, first noting the spiritual density of the air. The World of the Living was out so that left only Hueco Mundo and the Soul Society. "I'm pretty sure that Hueco Mundo doesn't have trees or the Sun so that leaves… crap. Well that didn't quite go the way I wanted it to," he said to himself quietly.

It was at that moment that he sensed several distinct soul signatures that he recognized, at first bringing a smile to his face, but then he remembered.

_Ah Crap_

He remembered that he wasn't supposed to be in the Soul Society, not yet. He had hoped that he would wind up in the World of the Living so as to avoid any problems but that hope was completely dashed when one of the few Soul pressures that he recognized started charging towards him.

_Maybe if I just ignore him, Kenpachi will leave me alone,_ he thought hopefully. Just as his sword was about to hit Keiyaku, he a raised a hand deflecting it to the side of him. Kenpachi paused a moment, Keiyaku knew that Kenpachi was surprised that he had so easily deflected the attack.

_Don'tactinterested don'tactinterested don'tactinterested,_ Keiyaku chanted within himself, hoping that he would go away.

Then he remembered, _he gets mad when you ignore him. _To confirm what Keiyaku just thought Kenpachi attacked him again, Keiyaku deflected his Zanpakuto again letting it whistle past him.

"ARE YOU GONNA LOOK AT TREES ALL DAY OR ARE WE GONNA FIGHT?!" the spikey-haired captain roared.

_Well let's see if I can talk him down,_ he thought hopefully with a sigh.

"**Sure, like he's ever been talked down from a fight," **said a feminine voice in Keiyaku's head.

_Shush_

"Are you really so eager to fight?" Keiyaku had to stop himself from throwing in Kenpachi, he really didn't want to have to explain how he knew Kenpachi.

Kenpachi growled back almost insantly, "Yeah, I am so shut-up and fight." He charged Keiyaku again

"**Come on, you knew you were going to have to fight him as soon as you sensed his Spiritual Pressure, you just delayed the inevitable," **the feminine voice said again.

_You love to shove my face into my failures don't you Severo?_

"**Of course, it's too fun to pass up," **Severo said with a small chuckle.

_Well I guess I'm going to fight him now, let's end this fast._

Keiyaku sighed, "Come on pops, I just woke up from a long trip. The least you could do is point me in the direction of a good Motel to stay at." Kenpachi ignored his taunt and continued his charge.

"Alright, but believe me you're going to wish you gave me those directions," Keiyaku said with mock irritation.

As he charged Keiyaku used Shadow Step, a unique technique invented by him, to speed past him. (AN I'll explain more later, all you need to know is that it's the fastest speed technique)As he rushed past Kenpachi he quickly drew Severo from her sheath at his waist with his left hand, slashing Kenpachi across his body. Once Keiyaku was on the other side of the crater he was in he slowly started to put Severo back into her sheath pausing with just the last inch left bare.

"**Wait for it…" **Severo said with anticipation.

_NOW!_ Keiyaku thought as he put the last of Severo in her sheath. At the same moment the slash appeared on Kenpachi's body, spraying his blood all over the ground as he fell to it.

_That never gets old! I feel like a badass every time! More importantly, do you think I hit him hard enough for him to stay down?_ Keiyaku asked Severo.

"**He'd be an idiot if he did get up, but he won't. Don't worry, we didn't cut him deep enough to kill him," **she said throwing in the second part before Keiyaku could voice his concern.

_Good, now let's see about leaving,_ Keiyaku turned to open a Garganta when…

"Stop there, Arrancar," Byakuya Kuchiki said with authority in his voice.

_Arrancar?_ Keiyaku wondered. He looked down at myself, taking in the mainly white clothes he was wearing with the exception of a black shirt and red scarf underneath his white coat. He put a hand up to his face, touching the mask that he had forgotten was there. _Whoops, I guess I didn't think this through too well._

"You are hereby under arrest for attacking the Soul Society, surrender now and I won't have to kill you," he said again with that same authority.

"I don't think I want to surrender, see I'm a busy man and I've got a schedule to keep. Maybe you could demand my surrender say…. Next Thursday?" Keiyaku smiled to himself and heard Severo's laughter in his head; it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. He never got to make fun of Byakuya!

"Insolent boy, do you realize who you-" he started before Keiyaku interrupted, again taking this opportunity to make fun of him.

"-Who I'm talking to? Actually, yeah I do. Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of Squad six of the Gotei 13, and master of the art of being a stick in the mud."

"**Ohhhhhhhh, you pissed him off now," **Severo said after stifling a laugh.

Byakuya's brow furrowed only a fraction of an inch but for him that was the equivalent to a snarl.

"Death it is," he said.

He charged Keiyaku using Flash Step, to most people it looked like he disappeared, but Keiyaku could see his every move. He used Shadow Step to maneuver over to where Byakuya had been standing when they had started our conversation. When Byakuya finally stopped, he looked around himself with a puzzled look on his face; his back was to Keiyaku so he took the opportunity to lean on a nearby tree. Byakuya finally saw Keiyaku and his confusion turned into shock, which for him looked like slightly raised eyebrows.

"When did you get over there?" he asked.

Keiyaku looked at his wrist like there was a watch on it then he looked up at the sky as if he was trying to remember something.

"Well judging from how long you've been standing there, that's about 4 seconds, and how long it took you to get from here to there, add on another 0.3 seconds I would say…. 5 seconds even. It seemed like you took an eternity though."

As fun as it is to mess with Byakuya, Keiyaku knew he had to leave the Soul Society before anyone else showed up to help Byakuya fight him. The best way to deal with the situation he was in right now is to make them continue to believe that he was an Arrancar. As long as he wore those clothes and mask, he would be able to pull off being a hollow for a while longer.

"Before you pop a blood vessel, I really should be going Byakuya. Don't worry though, you'll see me soon enough," Keiyaku told Byakuya as he opened a Garganta. Byakuya charged Keiyaku to stop his escape but he had already stepped into the Garganta and it quickly slammed shut. Keiyaku started running forward, heading toward the World of the Living, thinking on what had happened and what was to come.

"I guess this mask helped convince Byakuya that I was an Arrancar, it really sucks that I have to wear it," Keiyaku said as he touched the mask on his face again. It looked something like a skull; it was bone white with a red outline of a circle on the forehead that was supposed to be a new moon, slits in it for him to see through and a ridge going halfway down his nose since it only covered half of his face (Think Death's mask from Darksiders 2 cut in half). He had been told that he looked scary when he wore it but he knew he had to as long as he was in the past, who knows what would happen if he showed my face to wrong person. As far as he knew, he might wind up not existing as a result.

"**Byakuya wasn't entirely wrong assuming you were an Arrancar, you know that right?"**Severo said.

Keiyaku rolled his eyes, "Severo, you know as well as I do that I'm not entirely sure what I am anymore," talking aloud now that he was alone.

"**Ah, but we do know that you are _part_ Arrancar since I'm here," **Severo replied smugly.

"**True that may be, Severo, but we also know that he's part Soul Reaper as well. I'm the evidence of that, just as you are the evidence of his Arrancar powers I am here as the evidence of his Soul Reaper side,"**responded a masculine voice in my head. Keiyaku's not crazy, promise.

"Daitenchi? Wow, I can't believe you're getting involved in this conversation," Keiyaku said surprised. (I guess now would be a good time to tell you, Keiyaku's a little complicated when it comes to his soul. He has his two Zanpakuto, Severo and Daitenchi. Severo is the part of him that's a Hollow, so she's the baser part of his soul. Needless to say she makes for an interesting person for Keiyaku to talk to. Daitenchi is the part of Keiyaku that's a Soul Reaper, he's a very serious person and tends to look at things logically. Well at least while he's sealed that is.)

"**I joined the conversation to affirm that we are not entirely sure what you are anymore, aside from that this is not a relevant conversation that we're having. We should be focusing on the task at hand," **Daitenchi responded levelly. (Like I said, logical.)

"**Ahhhh, don't be like that Tenchi. If we focus on just what we're doing than we won't have any fun," **Severo said with a pout.

"**Fun is a commodity that we can't afford to have given the circumstances; we must stop the Keshigomu's from ever coming into existence."**

At that Keiyaku frowned. The Keshigomu's were the entire reason Keiyaku had come to the past; they were perhaps the worst thing to come to be. He didn't particularly like talking about his experiences with them, but there are definitely scars from his fights with them. That said a lot given that he didn't scar easily.

"He's right Severo, we don't have time to screw around. Once we get to the world of the living we need to find we need to find an Arrancar that can take us to Las Noches so we can confront Aizen. Without him our plan falls to pieces."

"**Aye, captain,"**Severo said with false enthusiasm.

* * *

Byakuya Kuchiki stood, staring at the spot where the Arrancar had escaped. He closed his eyes and gave a frustrated sigh. He turned to look at one of his squad members in the forest around him and ordered quickly, "Retrieve Captain Zaraki and take him to Squad four's barracks for medical attention."

"Yes sir," the Soul Reaper said quickly.

"But Kenny's fine," Yachiru said with confusion.

As if to prove her point Kenpachi started move. He gradually brought himself to a sitting position; you could easily see the look of annoyance and boredom on his face.

"I'll be fine, kid didn't cut me too badly," he grumbled bitterly.

Byakuya almost chuckled at the other Captain's stubbornness, he'd always valued that aspect of Captain Zaraki but sometimes he couldn't help but find it annoying.

"Excellent," Byakuya said dryly, "than I won't have to be the only one to explain how an Arrancar infiltrated the Soul Society and then proceeded to escape before two Captains could bring him down."

Kenpachi got a more annoyed look on his face, "Guess it's gotta be that way."

* * *

Ichigo swung Tensa Zangetsu at Grimmjow, trying to break through his guard and land a hit on him. A moment before he hit him, Grimmjow caught Zangetsu with his bare hand, preventing any damage from being taken. Grimmjow chuckled as he pulled Ichigo's Zanpakuto and Ichigo to throw him. Ichigo's eyes widened with surprise as he was launched through the air. He began to grunt with effort as he was sent skidding across the ground, trying to slow himself down.

'Dammit,' Ichigo thought. This fight was not working out for him the way he had hoped.

He finally jumped off the ground, becoming airborn to try and relocate Grimmjow before he could do anything else. As soon as he had reached the climax of his jump Grimmjow appeared in front of with a buzz of Sonido with his fist cocked back to punch Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes widened again, just before Grimmjow's fist made contact with his face Ichigo used flashstep to disappear then reappear in the same place as he tried to slash at Grimmjow again. Once again Grimmjow caught Ichigo's blade with a confident smile on his face.

_What is this guy?_ Ichigo thought in frustration.

Grimmjow then kicked Ichigo across his chest, hitting hard enough for Ichigo to spit out some blood before he was sent flying end over end through the air. Ichigo screamed as he was spiraling backwards towards the ground. He finally smashed over a streetlight and then into the ground where he left a sizable crater. Grimmjow bounced from foot to foot, changing stances constantly. You could tell from the way he smiled and the way he moved that Grimmjow was enjoying his fight with Ichigo. Once again he threw himself after Ichigo, wanting to get to him to continue his fight. Ichigo slowly got up, with blood running down the side of his face he raised Tensa Zangetsu. Grimmjow's smile widened, he was now smiling like maniac. Grimmjow increased his speed as Ichigo prepared to swing Zangetsu once again. Before either could do anything a Garganta suddenly opened in between them, Grimmjow stopped before he could run into it and Ichigo paused, worried of who would come out.

An Arrancar, who was about the same height as Ichigo stepped out of the Garganta.

_Who's this guy? I've never seen him before,_ Grimmjow thought to himself.

_Another Arrancar, is he an Espada?_ Ichigo thought similarly.

Finally the Arrancar spoke up.

"Grimmjow, you know you shouldn't be here right?" asked the Arrancar with an air of authority.

"If you think that you coming here is enough to bring me back to Las Noches you got another thing coming," Grimmjow growled.

"I don't really think you have a choice, either you come back willingly or I drag your ass back," the Arrancar responded dangerously.

Grimmjow laughed, "Do you really think that you can do that? Cause if you do than you have no idea who you're dealing with!" Grimmjow finished with a yell as he fired a Cero at the newly arrived Arrancar. The Cero closed in on him as he raised his hand with no hesitation, the Cero then met his hand stopping immediately. The Arrancar closed his hand, crushing the Cero with ease. Grimmjow looked on in shock.

"Grimmjow… I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation. You see, I'm the newest addition to Aizen's army," he paused as he lowered the collar of his shirt revealing on his right pectoral a number 0, "and I'm also the newest Espada."

Grimmjow's and Ichigo's eyes widened with fear and surprise.

_Number 0, what does that mean?_ Ichigo thought.

_That number's reserved for Yammy's Resurrecion form, if what he says is true than he's stronger than I ever dreamed of being_, thought Grimmjow as he swallowed a lump that had formed in his throat.

"I realize that you probably doubt my words, but it doesn't really matter. What does matter is that you stop fighting and go back to Las Noches, before things get really ugly really fast," said the Arrancar with the finality of a lid closing on a coffin.

Grimmjow swallowed again, looking back at Ichigo before he growled out, "This isn't over Soul Reaper." With that he turned back to the newly arrived Arrancar and walked through the Garganta to go back to Las Noches. Ichigo was expecting the Arrancar to follow Grimmjow through the Garganta but instead he waited until it closed behind Grimmjow with his hands in his jacket pockets. When it finally closed the Arrancar let out a sigh.

"Guess that leaves me to clean up this mess," he said as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Does that mean you're going to fight me?" Ichigo asked as he brought his sword up to defend himself. The Arrancar looked down on Ichigo with a blank expression on his face.

"That's an interesting question," said the Arrancar, "it would require effort on both sides to even be considered a fight."

"So you're telling me that you're not going to fight," Ichigo shot back.

The Arrancar laughed, "You've got spirit but no, I'm telling you that if I chose to fight you, you'd never get the chance to fight back."

Ichigo growled to himself, he started to think about what had happened with Grimmjow. _Anybody who could inspire that much fear into him without lifting a finger to fight him must be a powerful person, but how much more powerful?_

"Let's test that theory," Ichigo said as he brought Zangetsu back to swing, "_Getsu-._" Before he could finish his technique he heard a whisper behind him. He was surprised to see the Arrancar with his back to Ichigo. Suddenly Ichigo felt pain all throughout his body as he collapsed.

_What was that? That wasn't Sonido he just used, it was faster and it didn't buzz,_ Ichigo wondered to himself.

"Don't worry, I didn't do anything life threatening. You just won't be able to do anything but feel that pain for the next half hour or so," the Arrancar said cooly.

"What did you do?" Ichigo asked through clenched teeth.

"In that split second where you couldn't see me, I beat every part of your body with my bare hands. Your pressure points got the worst of it but like I said you should be fine in about half an hour."

Ichigo ground his teeth together, he didn't even see this guy move but he had ended the fight before it could even begin. The Arrancar started to walk away calmly but was stopped when Ichigo spoke up.

"What the hell? You attacked us and now you expect to leave just like that? What sick games are you playing with us?" Ichigo yelled from where he lay.

The Arrancar turned back, "I'm sorry you were attacked, that wasn't supposed to happen. I think that everyone who fought on your side will be alright, unfortunately for Grimmjow he lost the five Arrancar that he took with him. Given his track record so far, I wouldn't be surprised if we killed him or kicked him out of the Espada… Say, we could have an opening real soon. Whaddya say to joining up and becoming an Espada?"

Ichigo's eyes widened before his face turned a grimace of anger, "I'll never work with you, you're aiming to over throw the Soul Society and I'd never turn my back on my friends."

The Arrancar held his hands up in surrender with a smile, "I was kidding, you don't have the power necessary for it anyway. Not to mention the lack of being a Hollow." The Arrancar smirked coldly before he stood up and started to walk away again.

"What's your name?" Ichigo asked in a low growl.

Without ever looking back the Arrancar said one word, "Keiyaku." Before anything else could be said Ichigo heard a whisper as once again Keiyaku vanished. Ichigo closed his eyes and waited for the pain to fade.

* * *

"**You were pretty rough on him," **Severo said with a little concern her voice.

"**Considering everything I think that he went pretty easy on him," **Daitenchi responded.

"I don't know, I wish that I could just talk to him and found out more about who he is," Keiyaku said as he sped around Karakura town locating all the fallen Arrancar who still had a body left before destroying anything that was left of them. When he finally had destroyed the last one he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

"I can't believe I made it here, back to a time where everything was still whole. Before the Keshigomu's destroyed everything and almost everyone. I just want to stop and appreciate everything that's still here; it's like taking a breath of fresh air after being stuck in a cave."

"**Before you get too sentimental on us we need to hurry up and get to Las Noches before Grimmjow figures out that you weren't really who you said you were," **Severo said.

"Right," Keiyaku responded as he refocused on the task at hand, "to Las Noches and Aizen. I just hope that we can convince them to let us in because if they don't we're going to run into a few problems." Keiyaku flicked his wrist in front of him opening a Garganta once again to travel to Las Noches, stepping inside it closed behind him as he took off.

"We know that I can't use Daitenchi for a while, since he's the manifestation of my Soul Reaper powers you'd give me away the moment that I used you."

"**I'm fine with that, but you need to be ok with feeling like a Hollow for the next few weeks. We all know that you've had…interesting experiences with Hollows," **Daitenchi said simply.

"**Damn straight he has," **Severo said loudly, **"who knows, she might even be there."**

At those words Keiyaku froze, his eyes were closed as he paused to consider what Severo had just said. He lowered his head and shook it. "No… I can't think about her, that's a distraction waiting to happen. Besides if she is here I can't do anything, that wouldn't be fair to her and I couldn't forgive myself if I even entertained the idea of looking for her. Please Severo, don't ever bring her up again," Keiyaku pleaded as single tear rolled down from his eye.

There was a pause before finally, **"… You got it boss. I won't do it again."**

"Thank you," Keiyaku said quietly before he continued through the Garganta.

**End Chapter 1**

* * *

**Definitions/Explanations:**

**Keiyaku: His name means Covenant or Promise and is the somewhat of the main character. As the story progresses you'll find out more about his past and why he's acting the way he is, trust me all will be explained.**

**Severo: Her name means Grim and is Keiyaku's Hollow powers personified in a Zanpakuto.**

**Daitenchi: His name means Archangel and is Keiyaku's Soul Reaper powers personified in a Zanpakuto.**

**Shadow Step: This is a speed technique that Keiyaku and another person made together. Who was that person? I'm not going to tell :P... yet. The whisper sound it makes is difficult to describe, think smoke made into a sound. I don't know if that even makes sense but that's the best I got.**

**Keshigomu: Means Eraser, they're a race of beings that were creating because of certain circumstances. All will be revealed in time.**

**A/N: Ok I know that a lot of you are probably wondering what the devil is going on, just know that you'll find out more about Keiyaku as the story continues. For me this feels really fast paced and I didn't really want to do that but that's how it turned out. Leave me a review and let me know what you think, but please don't flame if you're going to criticize do it constructively so I can fix whatever problems you might have with this story. This is my first Fanfic so I am expecting to get a lot of flak for this, I want to make this story work though so if you guys help me I'll keep writing this to the end.**

**Till next time, Saddlbags.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Bleach: Salvation**

Revised 12/3/14

_Thoughts/Memories_

"Speech"

**"Zanpakuto/Hollow Speech"**

**A/N: PLEASE READ ALL AUTHOR'S NOTES! Thanks so much for the support, especially Lavender1088 for the first review! Also a special thanks to Andy from deviantART for the cover art of the story, be sure to check out her gallery! Ok just a reminder when you read this chapter Ichigo's "inner hollow" is still getting in his way and trying to "take control." The reaction at the beginning of the chapter is something that I think would fit his personality at the time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach... at all... I just came up with Keiyaku and the Keshigomu's.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

**"What the hell was that?!" **Ichigo's inner Hollow yelled, **"You didn't even try to fight back! He made you look like a total pissant! If I was in control, I would've killed him."**

"Shut the hell up, you've been in the way since the beginning. Besides, you and I both know that there's nothing that we could have done to stop him," Ichigo replied half-heartedly. In the fight with that first Arrancar he at least felt he was close to matching him but with Keiyaku... it was like he didn't even exist. Even Aizen didn't give him that feeling. _I think it's time to take Shinji up on his offer,_ Ichigo thought to himself.

**"Really?" **Ichigo's inner hollow asked sarcastically,** "I think it's time you woke up, face the music, if it wasn't for me you wouldn't be here right now. You're nothing without me." **Ichigo heard his hollow start laughing maniacally.

"I said... SHUT UP!" Ichigo yelled. His inner hollow didn't listen though.

**"Think about it, the last time you ever won a fight is when I helped you beat that jerk, Byakuya. Since then you've been completely useless, you need me but I don't need you. I think it's time that I start running the show,"** the hollow finished with a smirk. Just then Ichigo could feel his hollow start fighting for control of his body, his vision in his left eye started to turn black. Ichigo began to scream as he fought back, struggling to reign in the hollow. As the mask started to form over Ichigo's face, he began to tear off pieces with his hands, refusing to allow the mask to form. Finally, with a surge of Spiritual Pressure he was able to force the hollow to back down. Panting from the effort he thought to himself, _I definitely need to talk to the Visoreds._

The pain from his "fight" with Keiyaku started to fade to the point where he could stand again. Slowly getting up from the crater (the one Grimmjow put him in) he saw Renji walking towards him. There was a moment of silence that passed between them.

Finally Renji asked, "Did you win?"

"No," came Ichigo's short reply.

Renji shook his head, "You're alive, that's gotta count for something."

Ichigo growled with frustration, "You don't get it Renji, I was completely at his mercy. If he really wanted to he could have easily killed me," Ichigo finished in a low tone.

Renji's eyes widened, "Really? From what I felt earlier it was like you were almost on par with the guy."

Ichigo then shook his head, "That was the first guy but I didn't do much better against him either."

"There was another one?" Renji asked confused. "I didn't even sense another Spiritual Pressure."

"Are you kidding?!" Ichigo yelled, "You'd have to be dead not to feel that Spiritual Pressure, it was like the entire world was on your shoulders." Ichigo shuddered as he remembered the feeling.

Renji blinked, "What did he do?"

"He told the other Arrancar to go back to Hueco Mundo then he said he had to take care of some things while he was here. I tried to stop him but before I could even move he immobilized me."

Renji looked more confused than ever, "If what you say is true than he really could have easily killed you."

"Thanks," Ichigo deadpanned.

"I don't get it, though," Renji said as he brought a hand to his chin. "If he could have killed you so easily, why didn't he? Why didn't he kill any of us for that matter?"

Ichigo stopped to think about _that_ for a moment. _Why__ didn't he kill anyone? No one was here to stop him, he was strong enough to kill all of them, and he moved fast enough to... wait,_ Ichigo's eyes widened in horror.

He looked back at Renji, "How do we know he didn't kill anyone?"

Renji's eyes widened at the thought. He quickly started to feel out for the Spiritual Pressures of everyone in Karakura, looking for any missing presences or irregularities. After what seemed like an eternity to Ichigo, Renji finally looked back at him.

"Everyone's here, no one's dead."

Now they were both confused. Why didn't an Arrancar kill any Soul Reapers or humans when it had the perfect opportunity to do so? Ichigo shook his head and started to walk away.

"Where are you going Ichigo?" Renji asked.

"To see if Rukia's going to be ok," Ichigo replied simply. Renji smiled and walked after him.

* * *

When they finally reached her Orihime was already using Soten Kisshun to heal Rukia but she was still unconscious while Captain Hitsugaya stood by, watching. Ichigo breathed a sigh relief, knowing that Orihime was alright was somewhat refreshing. They quietly greeted each other and then silently waited for Orihime to finish healing Rukia. While Orihime was healing Rukia she looked up at Ichigo, she looked into his eyes noting the way he looked at Rukia. There were a lot of things that she could see in his eyes but the two things that stood out to Orihime were concern and sorrow. She looked down again, wondering if he would ever look at her that way.

* * *

Keiyaku stepped out of the Garganta and onto the floor outside of the throne room in Las Noches. He looked around and took in a deep breath.

_Been a long time since I've been here,_ he thought to himself. _This is what it was like before… before the Keshigomu's destroyed everything_.

"**Boss, you need to focus," **Severo said. **"Remember you can change everything but you need to focus to do that. If you don't than we'll go through the Keshigomu's all over again."**

_'I know, I'm focused, and now I'm also motivated, motivated to keep this place like this for as long as I can,'_ Keiyaku thought at Severo with determination. With that thought he walked up to the double doors leading to the throne room, pushing them open to reveal three people inside. Aizen, Tosen, and Grimmjow all turned to look at the new comer. Grimmjow let out a low growl.

"You liar," he said, "you're not the 0 Espada. You're just some poser lookin to get in on the action."

"Ok, you caught me," Keiyaku said as he lowered his shirt to smudge the 0 that was drawn onto his chest. "But I didn't completely lie, I'm not the 0 Espada… yet," Keiyaku responded confidently. Aizen's eyebrow rose slightly, clearly showing his interest in the newly arrived Arrancar.

"Ha, fat chance of that," Grimmjow said mockingly, "you're nothing special, you just took me by surprise is all."

"While I'd love to prove you wrong right now Grimmjow, I have some important business with…" Keiyaku paused to overcome a sense of nausea before he finally said, "Lord Aizen." Grimmjow growled again and went to charge Keiyaku when Aizen raised a hand.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Grimmjow," Aizen said coolly. "Honestly I'm rather intrigued with this… Arrancar. Tosen, would you take Grimmjow with you outside so I may talk with our guest?"

"Lord Aizen," Tosen said inclining his head to show respect but then continued, "what of Grimmjow's punishment? He left Las Noches without consent and caused the death of five Arrancar, surely there needs to be some sort of punishment to justify this."

Aizen rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I don't believe that will not be-"

"Hey," Keiyaku said shocking everyone present, _no_ one interrupted Lord Aizen unless they had a death wish, "perhaps I may be of some assistance in that department."

Aizen raised an eyebrow yet again, curious to see what he had to offer, "What is your name, Arrancar?"

"Keiyaku," he replied simply.

"No last name?" Aizen asked.

"None," Keiyaku responded.

"Very well, what did you have in mind Keiyaku?"

"Allow me to fight him to show my strength and determine if I'm fit to be an Espada," Keiyaku replied simply.

"Interesting, I believe that I can agree to those terms," Aizen said with a small smile. The four then simultaneously used Sonido, Flash step, and Shadow step to go to the desert outside of the Las Noches palace. Aizen and Tosen appeared on one of the many pillars above while Keiyaku and Grimmjow appeared on the sand below facing each other.

"Out here you are allowed to use your Resurreccion form here," Aizen began, "I'd prefer not to lose my Sexta Espada but if it can't be helped than suppose I'll find another."

Grimmjow smiled like a maniac, "It's a good day to be me, I got to show a Soul Reaper how worthless he is and now I get to kill someone who humiliated me."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that Grimmjow, and please don't call that Soul Reaper worthless," Keiyaku said calmly.

"PLEASE?!" Grimmjow said while he laughed, "you sure that you're really a Hollow, because I know for a fact that if you're as powerful as you lead everyone to believe that you'd never say please. Not only that but you're defending a Soul Reaper? Disgraceful!"

"Call it what you want but just remember, a true warrior respects his opponents even if they're weaker than he is," Keiyaku said seriously.

Grimmjow's maniacal smile turned into a snarl, "You talk like you know what a real warrior is, LET ME SHOW YOU HOW WRONG YOU ARE!" Grimmjow yelled as he pulled his Zanpakuto from its sheath, holding it horizontally in front of him and placing is other hand on the blade, "Grind, PANTERA!"

* * *

An explosion of Spiritual Pressure came from Grimmjow, throwing dirt in every direction. When the dust settled it revealed Grimmjow's Resurreccion form, his hair had grown long going down behind his knees, his ears became pointed like a cats and were covered in green fur, his fingers had extended into claws, he also had blades extending from his elbows and calves, and his mask had changed to a crown like fragment on top of his forehead. Keiyaku looked on, seemingly unimpressed by the show of strength.

Grimmjow smiled to himself, _The moron's too confident for his own good, I'll end it here and now._

He launched himself at Keiyaku raising his claws to impale him. Keiyaku never moved from where he stood, watching the incoming attack patiently.

_He's not going to even move? What a joke!_ Grimmjow thought.

Grimmjow impacted Keiyaku with both of his sets of claws, his left hand had been sent to Keiyaku's soft stomach while his right hand had been aimed to tear out Keiyaku's throat. To Grimmjow's shock however, his claws hadn't pierced Keiyaku's skin.

_That can't be right,_ Grimmjow thought, _Even Nnoitra would have been wounded with that attack but this guy doesn't even seem fazed. What… is he?_

Keiyaku sighed, "Look, I don't want to embarrass you too bad so I'm going to do ya a solid and end this before you look even weaker when none of your attacks hurt me." With that he brought down his left hand and drew his dark red hilted Zanpakuto from his hip, he brought it out in front of him pointing it past Grimmjow. "Shatter hope, Severo," Keiyaku said solemnly. If Grimmjow's release had been an explosion than Keiyaku's release was like a star being born on the surface of the planet, throwing dust for miles around creating a sandstorm. The air warped and writhed around the sudden burst of immeasurable power, creating a distorted image of Keiyaku's shadow beyond the cloud of sand.

From atop the pillar Tosen fell to his knees from the burst of power, unable to breath. Aizen had staggered slightly, surprised at the power pouring from Keiyaku. He looked on with interest as he waited for the dust to clear so he could see the new Arrancar. When it finally cleared and Keiyaku's appearance was revealed he smiled at Keiyaku, shaking his head.

Keiyaku's mask had changed from a skull like appearance to a sort of blindfold, covering the top half of his face completely. He had a pair of black feathered wings sprouting from his back, his other sword now running vertically in between his wings. His forearms and hands were covered with bone like gauntlets with forked lightning designs going down the length of them. Small but wicked spikes extended from the knuckles of the gauntlets, promising extreme pain for whoever came in contact with them. His black undershirt was gone, leaving his body under his jacket exposed underneath showing his hollow hole where his heart should be and the number 0 opposite it on his chest. That was the extent of his external changes but one could feel the sense of hopelessness in the air, almost taste it.

Keiyaku slowly took the scarf around his neck off and slid it into one of his jacket pockets, he then turned his head so that he was face to face with Grimmjow, "Don't worry Grimmjow, I'll make this fast."

* * *

"Shut up you stupid cow!" Apacci yelled at Mila-Rose.

"You must be running out of isults, monkey, that's the third time you've called me a 'stupid cow' in a row," Mila-Rose shot back confidently.

Harribel and her fraccion had been having what was a peaceful day in Las Noches. Well, at least what passed as peaceful for them which consisted of the constant arguing between Harribel's fraccion with Harribel interrupting them every once in a while. Suddenly they felt Grimmjow's Spiritual Pressure jump, signifying the release of his Resurreccion form.

"What the hell is that Bastard thinking?!" Apacci yelled. "Why did he release his Resurreccion form?"

"Maybe someone invaded Las Noches," Mila Rose said idly.

"Don't be stupid, if you used your head you'd notice that Lord Aizen's there as well so it's obviously a spar," Sung-Sun interjected.

"Or an execution," Harribel said quietly, causing her Fraccion to look at her confusedly.

"Who's execution?" Apacci asked.

As soon as the words had left her mouth a Spiritual Pressure, unlike any they had ever felt before, causing Harribel to stagger slightly while her fraccion were pressed to their knees. They could all feel their hope escape them as it was seemingly swallowed by this giant pressure. Harribel steadied herself and raised her own spiritual pressure, creating a sort of bubble around her and her fraccion making it safe environment for them.

"Who has that kind of Spiritual Pressure?" Mila-Rose asked, still trembling from the feeling of it. "I've never felt anything like that before."

The Spiritual Pressure vanished as if it had never been there. The four Arrancar all ran towards the balcony outside the room they were currently in to view the desert outside. When they finally made it outside they were shocked at what they saw. All the pillars within a five mile radius, minus the one Aizen and Tosen were standing on, were reduced to rubble and there were several craters for miles around as well. In the center of it all were two figures, one was unmistakably Grimmjow in his Resurreccion form lying face down. The other figure wore a long white jacket, white pants, black t-shirt, and black boots. His shoulder-length black hair with orange streaks blew in the wind as he looked down at the fallen Grimmjow with his sword still drawn. He spun his sword once slowly and returned it to its sheath at his hip, he reached into one of his jackets pockets and brought out a red scarf. On closer inspection they noticed how tattered the scarf was, the ends of the scarf appeared to have been shredded and there were a few holes and scorch marks along the length of it. Taking the scarf the new Arrancar gently wrapped it once around his neck loosely so that it hung mostly off his shoulders. After he put the scarf on he knelt down and picked up the fallen Arrancar, throwing Grimmjow across his shoulders to make it easier to carry him.

The figure then disappeared, reappearing in front of Aizen and Tosen. Although the four female Arrancar weren't close enough to hear what they were saying they could still tell that Aizen was talking to the new Arrancar while Tosen was shifting uneasily. The unknown Arrancar turned to Tosen, handing over Grimmjow very gently before turning back to face Aizen and then disappeared along with Aizen and Tosen, returning to the Palace of Las Noches. The fraccion of Tier Harribel were visibly shaking from the memory of the pressure that the figure had exerted.

"What… is he?" Sung Sun finally asked. The three fraccion to give a questioning look to Harribel, who was also trembling but less so than here fraccion.

"He's… an ally, that much is clear," Harribel said. "If he truly meant us harm than we'd all be dead by now," came her grisly after thought.

_I've never felt anything like that before, if I never feel it again it will be too soon,_ Apacci thought to herself.

"We should… introduce ourselves to our new… comrade," Sung-Sun said hesitantly before she turned to address Harribel. "As long as you're alright with it, Mistress."

* * *

Keiyaku tried hiding his panting as best he could as he walked behind Aizen.

"**The hell were you thinking?!" **Severo yelled, **"Using that much power when you release is dangerous!"**

_I know, but it was a risk I needed to take though. I need to be high on the totem pole here, the best way to do that is be the guy that holds the most power. Since I used all that spiritual pressure at the beginning of the fight, it'll make them think that I have more power than I actually do._

Severo then let out an exasperated groan, **"Uggghhhhhh, fine. Just don't get used to using all that power repeatedly, if your opponent can last a few seconds against that than you'll be at their mercy. Look at yourself, at this rate you'll collapse before they make you an Espada!"**

Keiyaku let out a small chuckle, _It's nice to know that you care, Severo._

"**Whatever."**

Keiyaku finally stopped walking as Aizen turned to face him, looking down on him from his throne above.

"Well I must say that I'm impressed with that show of power, how is it that you came by such power?" Aizen asked as he steepled his fingers in front of him.

"I came by these powers the same as any other Hollow would, by devouring souls," Keiyaku said quietly.

"While that would normally explain how a normal Hollow gains power it doesn't explain how you became an Arrancar."

Keiyaku started to sweat slightly, if he didn't play this right than he would be caught and the plan would be ruined. "I was made an Arrancar by a Kisuke Urahara, I think. I remember being an experiment of some kind, I think that he believed I was a failure that was bound to die so he turned me loose. My powers slowly grew after that until today."

"Oh? I didn't know that Kisuke had experimented with Hollows in such a way. I was under the impression that he deemed such a thing unethical."

"I don't know what to tell you, all I know is that he made me the way I am now and-"

Keiyaku was cut off as the doors to the throne room were thrown open. Turning around to face the doors he saw four Arrancar walk slowly through the doors and they were all female. The one at the front of the group had messy blond hair with piercing teal colored eyes, her jacket had a high collar so that it covered the bottom half of her face but was also cut short so it ended just below her ample breasts. As Keiyaku turned to take in the other three he heard Daitenchi yell from inside his head.

"**DON'T LOOK!"**

'Why? Is there someone in there I know?'

"**I don't know, but think about it. What are the chances that _she's_ in this group? If you see her here now than everything that we've done to this point could be undone. Everything that everyone sacrificed to bring us here and now would be wasted."**

Keiyaku's eyes widened at the thought, he quickly turned back around so he could only face Aizen. He then closed his eyes so he could sense spiritual pressure more easily, grateful that the thin eye-slits hid his eyes enough so no one would notice. This way he could still tell who was talking without actually seeing who was talking.

"Lord Aizen," said the lead Arrancar, "what happened just now? We sensed an enormous spiritual pressure."

"It's nothing, Harribel, I was just about to enlist this new Arrancar," Aizen said calmly indicating Keiyaku.

Harribel and her fraccion turn to look at the new Arrancar who still had his back to them, noticing for the first time his two Zanpakuto. He slowly turned so that he faced them, his skull like mask covering the top half of his face with thin eye-slits making it impossible to see his eyes.

"Hello," he said in light young voice, "I'm Keiyaku. I'm sorry if I caused any problems when I released my Resurreccion form."

Harribel inclined her head in greeting then said, "Be sure to not make a habit of it."

"That reminds me," Aizen said with a smile as he stood from his throne and began pacing, "I believe that I have no choice but to make you the 0 Espada, as such you're to abide by a few rules. The first being that you can never use your Gran Rey Cero and the second is that no Espada of the rank four and above can release their Resurreccion form while within the dome of Las Noches. The second rule now includes you, so be sure to follow it."

Keiyaku turned and inclined his head, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind Lord Aizen."

"Very good, you may leave now, I will have Gin show you to your room. I'm sure he's just outside the door," Aizen said as he sat back on his throne.

Keiyaku turned back towards the door and slowly began walking towards it. As he walked passed the three fraccion of Harribel time seemed to slow down for him. He froze as a smell drifted up into his nose, a scent that seemed to hold so many memories but none that he could place. The smell was earthy, reminding Keiyaku of the fresh air of the World of the Living that one could find outside any city. He turned to look towards where the smell was coming from, now facing the three fraccion with his eyes still closed.

"What are you looking at?" Apacci asked boldly, trying to hide her fear.

Keiyaku stiffened and without a word turned his head so he faced the door and continued out into the hallway outside the throne room, turning the corner to find Gin standing there.

"Oh," Gin said acting somewhat surprised to see him, "hello there Mister Keiyaku. I think that I was supposed ta show you where you were going ta be staying. Just follow me." Gin then turned to continue walking down the hall then disappeared with a Flash Step. Keiyaku shook his head and followed Gin using Shadow Step.

* * *

Mila-Rose shivered, "Well that guy's scary, kinda makes you wonder what he looks like under that mask if his."

Apacci shook her head, "He's probably deformed under it, kind of like how your body's deformed."

"WHAT?!" Mila-Rose screeched.

"I'm sure he's less deformed than either of you," Sung Sun said from behind her sleeve.

"WHAT YOU SAY?!" both Apacci and Mila-Rose yelled as they turned to look at Sung Sun.

Harribel closed her eyes as her fraccion continued arguing, trying to hold off the incoming headache.

* * *

"Well here we are my silent friend," Gin said as he came out of Flash Step next to a door.

Keiyaku silently nodded his head and reached towards the door handle to open it, just as he was about to turn the handle the door suddenly flew open nearly smashing Keiyaku in the face before he jumped back. A short female Arrancar with long black hair in pigtails stormed out of the room with a tick mark on her forehead as she raised her fist.

"Don't even think about you perv!" She yelled before she turned back into the room slamming the door behind her.

Keiyaku slowly turned to face Gin and dryly said, "I don't think friends let friends go to a place that means certain death without good cause."

Gin lightly chuckled, "I suppose you're right about that. Your real room is just over here, promise." They walked down the hall a little ways before stopping at another door.

Keiyaku stood there behind Gin before saying, "You open it."

"What don't you trust little ole me?" Gin asked innocently.

"About as much as a mouse can trust a fox."

"Oh that hurts, and I thought we were friends." Gin opened the door with a hand flourishing his other hand as if to present Keiyaku his room.

Keiyaku slowly walked in, looking around to take in everything that it had to offer. There was a King sized bed, a dresser running the length of the wall, and balcony just beyond the room. It was simple but it would be all he would need.

"Lord Aizen is sure to call a meeting shortly to introduce you to all the Espada, who I'm sure are all going to be interested to meet you. After all you kinda knocked them all down a little on the totem pole," Gin said with his ever present grin.

Keiyaku sighed, "No avoiding it I suppose."

"Nope, I'll come to collect you when it's time. Have fun!" Gin said as he ducked out of the room.

Keiyaku closed his eyes and began to rub his face. He walked over to the door and locked it, preventing anyone from entering. Taking the white covers from the bed he walked to the opening in the room that led to the balcony and used his fingers to press the cover into the wall, effectively closing the room from the outside. Now with no chance of anyone looking into the room he finally took off his mask. He walked over to the dresser to look into the mirror that rested on top of it. He looked straight into the image of his own gunmetal grey eyes, trying to read the thoughts that seemed to swirl inside of them. Brushing some stray strands of his long hair from his face he looked away and walked to the bed that was left bare, sitting down.

"She was there," Keiyaku said to himself quietly, "in that room. She was one of the three behind Harribel."

"**You can't think about it!" **Daitenhci said sternly,** "It was unfortunate that you recognized her scent, but I'm glad that you stopped yourself from looking. From this point on, Keiyaku, we must avoid Harribel's fraccion."**

"Got it, avoid Harribel's fraccion and stop thinkin' about her," Keiyaku said with determination.

Lying back on the bed, he closed his eyes and began to drift off into sleep. Before sleep finally took him a thought crossed his mind.

_I look a lot like him,_ Keiyaku said smiling inwardly.

**End Chapter 2**

* * *

**Definitions/Explanations:**

**Keiyaku: His name means Covenant or Promise and issomewhat of the main character.**

**Severo: Her name means Grim and is Keiyaku's Hollow powers personified in a Zanpakuto.**

**Daitenchi: His name means Archangel and is Keiyaku's Soul Reaper powers personified in a Zanpakuto.**

**Shadow Step: This is a speed technique that Keiyaku and another person made together. Who was that person? I'm not tell :P... yet. The whisper sound it makes is difficult to describe, think smoke made into a sound. I don't know if that even makes sense but that's the best I got.**

**A/N: Ok I apologize, that was a lot harder to write than I thought it would be and it still ended similarly to the last chapter. Keiyaku definitely has some baggage and it's pretty natural for him to dwell on the past sometimes, so there JUSTIFIED! I know I didn't write the fight sequence between Grimmjow and Keiyaku after Keiyaku used his Resurrecion but I figured that there wouldn't be all that much to write. See, Keiyaku is only able to hold onto his Resurreccion for a few seconds when he puts out as much power as he did, that's why he seemed OP but in actuality he wasn't really. If Keiyaku uses Resurreccion like he normally does he'd be closer to Baraggan's level of power, but he has to be the 0 Espada for his plans to work so that's why he used all his power like he did. Besides I think fights are a lot scarier if you don't know exactly what happened and just see the after effects. Ok so I'm sure that yall are wondering who this girl from Keiyaku's past is, is it Mila-Rose, Apacci, or Sung-Sun? I have an idea with who it is but I want to know what yall think so SEND ME A MESSAGE with who you would want it to be. Also I apologize that Ichigo and Orihime don't seem to be getting a lot of attention in this story, I will make a few chapters where they are the main focus and a few where it'll be just about them. For the most part though it's going to be a 50/50 deal, sorry if that bothers you! Don't forget to Review, it's what fuels this story and helps it grow. I love you guys!**

**Till next time, Saddlebags**


	3. Chapter 3

**Bleach: Salvation**

Revised 12/3/14

_Thoughts/Memories_

"Speech"

"**Zanpakuto/Hollow Speech"**

**A/N: To be honest, I'm shocked at how well this story is being received. Thank yall so much for the reviews and support. Now just so you know this story is not going to just focus on Keiyaku. It's going to be a split main role between him and Ichigo, if you have an issue with that PM me or send a review to let me know what you think. Thanks again and enjoy Bleach: Salvation!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach… at all… I did come up with Keiyaku and the Keshigomu's though.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Not long after everyone had been healed by Orihime and gone home, Ichigo still roamed the streets of Karakura Town. Once again in his body he took this opportunity to reflect on what had happened earlier that night.

_Why?_ was the question that Ichigo continually asked himself. _Why did they attack now? Why was I so powerless? Why didn't he kill me? Why?_

He finally stopped near the outskirts of Karakura, leaning against a light pole as he continued to reflect.

"_What the hell? You attacked us and now you expect leave just like that? What sick games are you playing with us?" Ichigo yelled from where he lay._

_Keiyaku turned back, "I'm sorry you were attacked, that wasn't supposed to happen. I think that everyone who fought on your side will be alright, unfortunately for Grimmjow he lost the five Arrancar that he took with him. Given his track record so far, I wouldn't be surprised if we killed him or kicked him out of the Espada... Say, we could have an opening real soon. Whaddya say to joining up and becoming an Espada?"_

_Ichigo's eyes widened before his face turned a grimace of anger, "I'll never work with you, you're aiming to over throw the Soul Society and I'd never turn my backs on my friends."_

_Keiyaku held his hands up in surrender with a smile, "I was kidding, you don't have the power necessary for it anyway. Not to mention the lack of being a Hollow." Keiyaku smirked coldly before he stood up and started to walk away again._

_Do I really lack the power to stand against the Espada?_ Ichigo thought to himself as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. _Was he taunting me?_

Ichigo sighed to himself as he looked across the street at an abandoned warehouse where he could feel the Spiritual Pressure of the man he was looking for. Standing up from the light pole, Ichigo started walking towards the seemingly abandoned warehouse. As he stepped through the large door it closed behind him with an ominous "boom". He calmly looked around, trying to locate the source of the Spiritual Pressure.

"Well well, seems like you finally found this place, Ichigo," said a familiar voice in the dark from higher up in the warehouse. Ichigo looked up towards the source of the voice with a scowl. Shinji Hirako stepped out of the shadows that hid him into the moonlight that leaked through the broken windows of the warehouse. The rest of the Visoreds were present as well, they were spread out across the inside of the warehouse each looking over at Ichigo.

"Have you been looking for us all night?"

"Shut up Shinji, I need your help," Ichigo replied to the voice before it could continue. "I just had my ass handed to me before I could do anything and after the guy left my hollow almost took over. If I don't get this handled now he's going to take over my body and hurt the people closest to me."

"What of it?" Shinji asked callously. "Why should it matter to us if you lose control of your hollow?"

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHINJI!" Ichigo yelled as he lost his patience. "If you're not going to help me then-"

"Whoa, who said I wasn't going to help you? I just need a really good reason why we _should_ help you," Shinji said with his smirk returning.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, "Because you have nothing better to do, and I'll kick your ass if you don't."

Shinji began to laugh at that, once he caught his breathe he said, "So I guess that means you're finally going to join our crew?"

"Hell no," Ichigo said his face deadpanned. Shinji comically jumped back, acting shocked at Ichigo's declaration. "I don't have time to put up with you guys, I just need to learn how to control my hollow so I can get stronger. The only way I can do that is if I use you guys to do it."

"Tell me again why we should train you?"

"Because if you don't I'll kick your ass," Ichigo said with a small smile. He pulled his Substitute Soul Reaper badge out of his pocket and pressed it to his chest, launching his Soul Reaper form out of his body. He charged at Shinji at full speed with his hand on Zangetsu. As he neared Shinji, the blond Visored stepped onto the hilt of his own Zanpakuto, flipping it in the air. As it spun Shinji reached out and took his Zanpakuto by the sheath and drew it in one smooth motion, bringing it up in time to block Ichigo's attack.

* * *

The other Visoreds all stepped down from where they were and walked towards the battle happening between Shinji and Ichigo. They lined up on the edge of the battlefield and looked on interest as Ichigo seemed to be pushing back Shinji.

"This kid must think he's something special to want to cross swords with Shinji," Rose said with a small smile.

"Idiot, Shinji isn't takin' this fight seriously at all," Lisa said with a tone of irritation.

"Yet on close inspection, Ichigo doesn't seem to be fighting at his full capabilities either," Hachi said thoughtfully.

Love then sighed, "He's scared no matter how ya look at it."

"Scared? Of What?" Mashiro asked curiously.

"His hollow, I can't believe this kid's dumb enough to fight without calling out his inner hollow," Kensei growled out.

Hiyori let out a small sigh and started to walk towards the fight. Mashiro turned to look curiously at Hiyori, "Uh, Hiyori, where are you going?"

"Hachi, buff up the shield five more layors," she said, completely ignoring Mashiro's question.

"Yes ma'am," Hachi said quietly.

At that moment Ichigo and Shinji had pushed each other back and were taking the opportunity to reevaluate each other.

* * *

"Ichigo, you-" Shinji started before being interrupted.

"Shinji…"

Shinji turned to look towards Hiyori who had yelled his name only to come face to sole with her sandal.

"Outta my way!" Hiyori yelled as she smacked Shinji towards the opposite wall. Shinji grunted in pain as we corkscrewed towards the wall before finally crashed into it. Ichigo looked on in shock and confusion at what had happened.

"I told you to put five more layers on!" Hiyori shrieked back at Hachi.

"You didn't give me enough time to put them up ma'am," Hachi said with a sweat drop.

"Pfft, whatever," Hiyori turned attention to Ichigo, giving him a dirty look. "Ichigo, let me tell you something. You're going about this all wrong."

Ichigo's eyes widened slightly at Hiyori's statement, "Wrong?"

"We really were considering letting you join our ranks, but ya gotta realize that doesn't mean it's ever been your choice."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that the decision has always been ours. I don't give a shit whether or not you want to be a part of us, we've seen your power and we're beginning to wonder whether we should add you to our team or not."

Ichigo was beginning to sweat, he knew what he had to do next. He really didn't want to but if he had to fight that Arrancar, Keiyaku, again then he had to do it.

"If you have the power, you become one of us and we'll teach you how to seal off the hollow inside you. But if you don't have the power, then take a hike. Go disappear and become a hollow so you can die a dog's death."

Ichigo looked down at Zangetsu, "You want me to show you my power? Alright but you better be ready for this." Ichigo raised his Zanpakuto straight out in front with his right hand while his left gripped his right wrist. "Bankai."

A sudden burst of Spiritual Pressure filled the warehouse with black Spirit Energy surrounding Ichigo, surprising all the Visoreds there. They hadn't expected him to use his Bankai so readily. When the energy around Ichigo faded away he stood in his Bankai state with Tensa Zangetsu lazily resting at his side. Without saying a word he used Flash Step appearing behind Hiyori, slashing at her back. Hiyori spun around just in time to deflect Ichigo's attack and pushed him back. She formed her hollow mask as quickly as she could, bringing her own Spirit Energy closer to Ichigo's current level. They clashed once again sending sparks flying between their Zanpakuto's. Clashing and then separating only to charge each other again.

"Is this all you got Hiyori? Because if it is then you've been wasting my time," Ichigo said as he knocked her back again, this time pressing his advantage.

Hiyori growled and came at Ichigo again with renewed vigor, trying her best to push him back. She quickly charged a cero while Ichigo was still some distance from her and fired. The cero took Ichigo by surprise, hitting him full on and exploding. Smoke obscured Ichigo from the Visoreds, but they could still sense his Spiritual Pressure. Suddenly his energy took on a very dark undertone, making some of the Visoreds begin to sweat. Ichigo then burst from the smoke cloud with half of a hollows mask covering his face, and a maniacal grin could be seen from behind his mask as he lunged at Hiyori. Grabbing her by the throat he flew her into a wall, shattering her hollow mask on impact. The other Visoreds were taken by surprise at Ichigo's sudden change in personality of, quickly they jumped up to save their friend and comrade.

Ichigo brought his Zanpakuto back, aiming for Hiyori's chest while laughing like crazy. As he was about to impale her a fist connected with Ichigo's face sending him flying back to the ground below. Before he could do anything the other Visoreds all pinned Ichigo with their Zanpakuto's, preventing him from moving without being cut.

Shinji then used his Zanpakuto to shatter Ichigo's mask. "Ok, that's enough. Well Hiyori, are you satisfied?"

Hiyori sat with her back against the wall trying to breath in as much fresh air as she could while she trembled in fear of what must have been Ichigo's hollow.

* * *

_Keiyaku was running through what was left of a city in the World of the Living, he wasn't sure which because they all looked the same now. Piles of rubble with fire and smoke covering the light from the sun, blood was splattered everywhere. The scariest thing about the World of the Living was how quiet it was, you could hear the fires crackling but that was it, no birds, no wind, no children laughing, nothing. It was like the world had died and been buried. Keiyaku looked over his shoulder to see if he was being followed, he then saw a gray blur behind him. He smiled for a reason he didn't know as he saw this gray blur. While he was looking back at it he got the sense that it was talking to him but he heard nothing._

"…_..."_

"_Of course I'm sure we're going the right way, it's just taking a little longer because we don't want to be noticed by a Keshigomu," Keiyaku said quietly._

"…..."

"_You know that we can't do that right now, if we do then we'll be caught for sure."_

_Turning back to face his destination, Keiyaku began running again. He turned around a corner to see what he had been looking for, it was the ruins of a building. Somehow this building had avoided becoming rubble and ash, mostly, like everything else around it and was relatively free of any blood. It looked like it had once been a store but it was difficult to tell because most of the left side of the shop had been blown away and the roof had collapsed._

"_Ok, we need to get in there and find what the old man wanted," Keiyaku said as he hid behind a pile of rubble._

"…..."

"_I know you don't trust him, but we need him to stop the Keshigomu's. Wait here and I'll be right back," looking down he realized that he was holding onto what must have been the blurs hand. An overwhelming sense of sadness overcame him as he let go and ran towards the old building. He ducked in through the partially collapsed doorway, he looked through the fallen beams and rubble that was inside the building until he saw the room he was looking for. There, in the corner of the building, was a closet full of boxes. Keiyaku carefully picked his way through the room towards the closet. When he reached the closet he started to look around until he saw a small white box, about the size of an orange, covered in dust. Keiyaku picked up the small box and wiped off the dust, he opened the small box so he could look into it. Inside the box was an even smaller purple sphere, it began to glow slightly casting an eerie light in the closet._

"_I can't believe Hat n' Clogs made another one of these even after everything was said and done," Keiyaku quietly said to himself as he shook his head. He closed the box again, cutting off the light. He carefully made his way back to the front of the shop, stepping over a beam that was in front of the door and moving outside. Keiyaku saw the grey blur hiding behind the pile of rubble and ran to it._

"_Ok, I got it. We need to go back Hueco Mundo now."_

"…..."

"_Sounds good."_

_They turned down a different path from the one they took earlier, trying to make their way out of the city. As they turned around a corner they were hit by an overwhelming pressure, making their eyes go wide. Keiyaku turned around as a black figure landed behind him. It's head raised revealing a black medieval style helmet covering its face while its cloak billowed behind it._

"_Keshigomu," Keiyaku said just above a whisper as fear started to set in._

"_**Ahhh, **_**so **_**this **__is __**what I'd **_sensed **from **_before," the Keshigomu said in warbled voice. "The _**new **_**chosen and **_his-**"**

"_Finish that sentence, Keshigomu and I'll tear you to pieces," Keiyaku said with anger edging into his voice. He put the grey blur behind him, using his body as shield._

"_**Your **__bravery _is **quite adm**_**irable, **__but meaningless," the Keshigomu burst into black smoke that gathered behind Keiyaku and the blur, happening too fast for Keiyaku to react. As he turned he tried to pull the blur with him but the Keshigomu formed and took the blur by what must have been its head. The Keshigomu turned the blur around to face it._

"_I __**see **_that **you're **_**very **_**protec**_tive of _**this **one, _perhaps_** I sho**_**uld rem**_edy that_," the Keshigomu brushed its cloak back revealing numerous Zanpakuto sticking out from its back._

"_NO! PLEASE I'll-" Keiyaku yelled at the Keshigomu before it reached back to grasp one similar to a spear, it quickly drew the spear and ran it through the center of the blur._

"…_..Wh?" the blur said as blood started to run down the length of the spear like Zanpakuto. The blur coughed and blood was sprayed across the ground. At that moment Keiyaku gripped his head as a searing pain took it over. He could feel something being taken from his mind, memories? As the pain subsided he could finally notice that he was crying, but he didn't know why._

"_Th__**ere you **_**see? **Isn'_t this __**better **__than _having t**o worr**_**y about **__that _insig**nific**_**ant speck?**__"_

_Keiyaku looked at the blur again and began to remember one thing about the blur. Each time a Keshigomu kills someone they erase their entire existence, taking away everything you know about that person. Everything except for one memory, one thing that you can remember about the person that you used to know. At that moment Keiyaku remembered the one thing about the blur lying dead in front of him._

"…_She loved me… did I love her? … Why did you kill her?" Keiyaku said as tears began to run more frequently down his cheeks. The Keshigomu slowly bent down over the body of the blur reaching for a sword that had formed in front of it._

"_Well __**aside f**_**rom **rem_oving_** her **_from __**this **_**miser**able_ existence_**, I gain **a _**new **__Zanp_**akut**o for _me __**to **_**treasure.**_"_

"…_No… no you DON'T!" Keiyaku yelled as loud as he could. His Spiritual Pressure skyrocketed, surprising the Keshigomu enough to make it stop. Keiyaku drew his Zanpakuto from his shoulder and pointed it at the Keshigomu._

"_BANKAI!" Keiyaku screamed out as his Spiritual Energy shot to new heights._

* * *

Keiyaku continued the scream from his dream as he shot up from his bed. He put his hand to his face and could still feel tears streaming down it. He closed his eyes as he sobbed.

"A dream?" he whispered. "Why do I have to relive that day even when I sleep?"

"**Keiyaku… I'm sorry, their's nothing we can do to stop those. You're going to have to learn to shut those memories out," **Daitenchi said carefully as he also remembered that day.

"**Why don't you let him go find her? For all we know seeing her could make this all end," **Severo pleaded.

"…No… if I do then I'll be too distracted to do what needs to be done," Keiyaku said hesitantly. "Try to beef up the barriers around this room in case I go through that again. We don't want anyone feeling my Spirit Energy while I'm dreaming." Keiyaku turned his bed onto his side and closed his eyes once again as a final tear rolled down his face before sleep took him again.

* * *

"Whaddya mean you want me to run on that!?" Ichigo yelled as he pointed at the diet machine.

"I want you to run on the machine! So quit your whinin' and run!" Hiyori yelled back as she threw the machine at Ichigo's head, nailing him in the chin. Slowly Ichigo looked down again with a tick mark on his head.

"Hell no! I'm not gonna waste my time running when I need to learning how to control my hollow!"

"Ya know, Hiyori, we actually have a pretty good idea of what the maximum limit of his Spirit Energy is," Shinji said calmly as he walked up to stand next to her. "Not only that but from what I've seen he's better at doing stuff the fast and painful way, so let's go ahead and skip to the fun part." Shinji moved before Ichigo could do anything, putting his hand in front of Ichigo's face.

"Time to go, Ichigo," Shinji said with a smirk. It was the last thing that Ichigo saw before he blacked out. Love caught Ichigo as he fell and lifted him up onto his shoulder, Shinji carefully reached up and closed Ichigo's eyes. He turned around to look back at Hachi.

"Hachi, put up a double-layer dislocation barrier."

"Yes sir," Hachi replied as he started using the hand signs required to create the requested barrier.

"You hear me Ichigo?" Shinji asked as he and the other Visoreds slowly made their way towards the stairs that led to the underground training facility they had that was similar to Urahara's. "You'd better prepare yourself because you're going to transform completely into a hollow. Don't let it eat you, though, consume it instead. Cause if you get eaten, than that's the end."

* * *

Orihime's eyes shot open, quickly looking around until she found her alarm clock. It graciously glared the time to her saying that it was 3:13 am. She sighed slowly as she sat up and got out of her bed. She slowly made her way to the kitchen, careful not to wake up Rangiku. Grabbing a glass from her cupboard she filled it with water which she sipped as she went over what had happened earlier that night.

'Ichigo was definitely worried about the Arrancar he fought, they must have been really strong to make him feel so worthless,' she thought as she set her glass down by her sink. 'He said the Arrancar acted really differently than any other Arrancar we've seen yet, and that he dressed a little differently, wearing a red scarf or something like that. Then he just walked away and didn't say anything to any of us, I wonder if he ever went home tonight.'

She looked up as she heard a noise coming from her living room. She made her way towards the living room with her Shun Shun Rikka ready to set up a barrier at a moment's notice. As she peeked around the corner she could see Rangiku and Captain Hitsugaya standing in front of what looked like a big screen TV. At the moment there was nothing but static on the screen but then it snapped into focus revealing the Head Captain.

"Ah good, we got it working sooner than expected," the Head Captain said while he kept his stoic demeanor. "We have some information to share with you regarding a recent attack on the Soul Society."

Rangiku's and Captain Hitsugaya's eyes widened at the news that Head Captain had shared with them.

"Who was it, Head Captain?" Captain Hitsugaya asked nervously.

"It was undoubtedly one of Aizen's Arrancar that attacked. He suddenly appeared over the Seireitei in a blaze of white Spirit Energy and launched himself at Squad One's barracks," the Head Captain said darkly as he relayed the information. "I deflected his attack into a nearby forest, after which Captain's Kuchiki and Zaraki pursued the Arrancar. Here is Captain Kuchiki with more information." The Head Captain stepped away from the screen slightly allowing enough room for Byakuya Kuchiki to come forward and give his report.

"Captain Zaraki and I located the Arrancar in the forest that the Head Captain mentioned," he began quietly. "At first he didn't seem to do much but take in his surroundings like he was lost. I noted that his appearance slightly deviated from regular Arrancar apparel," he said with a note of irritation.

"How do you mean?" Captain Hitsugaya asked curiously.

"He wore a white jacket and pants, similar to most Arrancar but he also wore a black t-shirt and boots, and a red scarf," Captain Kuchiki replied, throwing in the last detail as an afterthought.

"Ichigo saw an Arrancar just like that!" Orihime said aloud. Rangiku and Captain Hitsugaya whipped around while Captain Kuchiki brought his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. Orihime realized her blunder as soon as she had spoken, she felt as if she had interrupted a very important meeting and, in a sense, she was.

"Oh, it's you Orihime," Rangiku said as smile came to her face.

"Yeah, sorry I'll just go-" Orihime began to turn to walk back to her bedroom but was stopped by Captain Hitsugaya.

"Wait, you said that Ichigo saw an Arrancar like the one that Captain Kuchiki just described?" he asked trying to get more information from the girl.

"Oh, yes. He said that the Arrancar's name was Keiyaku, I think. From the way Ichigo was acting you could tell that the Arrancar was really strong," Orihime said as she recalled what Ichigo had said earlier.

"It's a similar story over here as well," Captain Kuchiki said darkly. "Captain Zaraki engaged the Arrancar...Keiyaku... before I could stop him. Keiyaku made short work of Captain Zaraki, taking him down in just a few moments and even taunted him. After Captain Zaraki went down I stepped in to stop Keiyaku before he could escape. However, he brushed me off as insignificant and escaped after evading me."

"This is most troubling," the Head Captain said as he brought a hand up to stroke his beard thoughtfully. "This, along with the new information regarding Aizen's true objective, indicates that there are dark days ahead of us."

"Aizen's true objective?" Captain Hitsugaya asked confusedly.

"Indeed," the Head Captain replied seriously.

"Um, this sounds kind of important so I'll just step outside," Orihime laughed nervously as she turned to leave.

"Wait," the Head Captain said to stop Orihime's retreat. "This issue has to do with you humans also, so you should stay to listen to this."

Orihime turned back to face the screen again before swallowing and answered with a simple, "yes."

"It's been a month since Aizen's disappearance," the Head Captain continued. "I know that the investigation of the Headquarters for the 5th Squad where he spent his daily life, also, the Central 46, Seijoutyou Kyorin and The Great Spirit Library is continuing. There is considerable hardship for this investigation." He paused to gather his thoughts before continuing again, "It's due to the fact that the majority is being done in the out-of-bounds area that there are few who know what is inside."

"You can spare us the introductions, Head Captain," Captain Hitsugaya said seriously trying to get to the point of the report.

"Yes, of course," the Head Captain said quietly. "Captain Ukitake, who is head of the investigation of The Great Spirit Library, has discovered a mysterious trace in that gallery. There are pre-read records containing only material on the Hougyoku and locked up research data, but 2 days before Aizen's disappearance, only once, were there documents unrelated to the Hougyoku that were attached to those records."

"And that is...?" Captain Hitsugaya said leaving his question open ended.

"The Ouken," the Head Captain replied ominously.

The eyes of Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku widened again in horror.

"Ouken... what's an Ouken?" Orihime asked innocently.

"It's the key of the Royal Family," Rangiku replied. "Even in the Soul Society there are such things as Royal Families. Even if he is called King, there's no actuality to his existence, since he allows for Central 46 to take care of all the Soul Society's business, and never intervenes. In truth, neither Captain Hitsugaya nor I have actually directly seen him in real life before."

"So, the King is called the 'Spirit King,' and is a representative symbol as well as an existing figure of the Soul Society," the Head Captain said as he continued on Rangiku's thought. "Moreover, this Royal Palace is within a separate dimension that exists within the core of the Soul Society, and is being protected by the Royal Family Special Duty Force. The Ouken is the key to open the continuing spac to the Royal Palace."

"So that means that Aizen... that King..." Orihime unable to complete her thought.

"He will kill the King, that is his plan," the Head Captain said bluntly. "But the problem is not there."

"The book that Aizen read was not one that would direct him to where the Ouken would be," Captain Hitsugaya said thoughtfully.

"Indeed," the Head Captain confirmed. "For generations, the whereabouts of the Ouken has been passed down through the 13 Squad Captains only by the speaking tradition. Hence forth, there exists no books to which will point him to the location. What he looked at were the documents that displayed the state of time when the Ouken was being made. What he knows is the Method of Resurrection of the Ouken."

"So, that means there's a problem with the Resurrection of the Ouken?" Rangiku asked.

"No, it is not an act of creation, the problem is the 'Ingredients,'" the Head Captain said darkly. "For the birth of the Ouken, it requires a million modsouls and a mile of Souls in a land rich of souls."

"A million modsouls..." Orihime repeated in wonder and horror.

"That's right, but what you're involved in are not the modsouls," the Head Captain said to refocus the situation. "It is the 'land rich of souls' found in the singular point of spirituality in the World of the Living. That place is found to change with the times, for this day and age in the World of the Living, this is being called out by having those that are becoming spirits too easily to accumulate in a spiritually different land. You've probably realized already that the 'land rich of souls' that Aizen is aiming for is... Karakura Town," the Head Captain finished ominously. Orihime's heart sank as she understood what Aizen was planning on doing to the people that she loved.

Captain Kuchiki stepped forward again to continue the Head Captain's thoughts, "It's this new information and the appearance of this new Arrancar, Keiyaku, that we have reason to believe that Aizen is going to make his move soon to form the Ouken. Not only does he have the opportunity to do it but now he apparently has the means to do it with."

"We need to prepare quickly for the coming war, our original projections told us that we would be at war with Aizen this Winter," the Head Captain said as he turned slightly. "However, with this new information it is more likely going to be towards the end of October. We will do everything in our power to insure that Aizen does not succeed, because this is the very reason that the Gotei 13 exists. So, would you please inform Ichigo Kurosaki of this?"

Orihime paused briefly to think about the things that she had heard before firmly responding, "Yes, sir." She turned around and left the room, stopping only when she reached the front door. She looked down at herself and blushed, "As soon as I get some normal clothes on."

* * *

Ichigo opened his eyes, looking at the sideways buildings he realized that he was inside his inner world. He began to look around until he saw the white version of himself sitting on the same building that he was currently on.

**"Yo, long time no see huh, King?" his hollow asked with a smile.**

**End Chapter 3**

**A/N: I'm so sorry that it took so long for me to post this, apparently I struggle writing for characters other than my own. Wonder why that is? Anyways I couldn't have done it without the help of the Manga and Anime. I also want to give a big thanks to Lord Jaric who's the Beta Reader for this story. I want to say thank you again to all the lovely people who read, review, follow, and/or favorite this story. You guys rock! You probably will have some questions for me as a result of this chapter, so feel free to ask through review or PM. I will answer just about any question you throw at me, promise! Don't forget to REVIEW, it's good to know what you think of what I write. Also you're going to want to CHECK OUT THE DEFINTIONS/EXPLANATIONS this time for an update on the Keshigomu's.**

**Defintions/Explanations**

**Keiyaku: His name translates to Covenant or Promise. The mysterious 'Arrancar' from heaven knows where. He's somewhat the main character of this story alongside Ichigo.**

**Daitenchi: His name translates to Archangel. He is Keiyaku's Soul Reaper powers incarnate in a Zanpakuto. You'll eventually see what his Shikai and Bankai states are.**

**Severo: Her name translates to Grim. She is Keiyaku's Hollow powers incarnate in a Zanpakuto as well.**

**Keshigomu: The name of their race translates to eraser. When this race of beings kills anyone they wipe that person out of existence, even their soul, almost completely, except each person remembers one thing about the person killed and no two people remember the same thing about one person. That means if enough people knew the person who was killed they could potentially collaborate and piece back together the memories they had of that person, however this can prove difficult when multiple people you know are killed by the Keshigomu. Also when someone who has spiritual powers is killed, like an Arrancar or a Soul Reaper, they leave behind a blank Zanpakuto since the part of their Soul that inhabited it was erased as well. This gives the Keshigomu the opportunity to place a fragment of their own soul inside a Zanpakuto, potentially increasing their power immensely. The more Zanpakuto a Keshigomu has, the powerful they are. This concept can be applied to Soul Reapers and Arrancars as well, albeit more limited. They can only fragment their soul once, meaning they can only add on one Zanpakuto and the power they gain from the Zanpakuto is dependent on the one memory (the memory has to be channeled along with part of their soul to fragment into the new Zanpakuto) that they have of the person who used to own the Zanpakuto. The more powerful the memory, the more powerful the Zanpakuto will make you. All Keshigomu resemble a black medieval knight but no two look the same.**

**Till next time, Saddlebags.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Bleach: Salvation**

"Speech"

_Thoughts/Memories_

"**Zanpakuto/Hollow Speech"**

**A/N: Well… I finally made it through most of Summer Semester and now I have a respite so I can write this chapter for yall. VERRY GOOD! Sorry for the really long wait but I figure that yall would rather have a really late chapter with a good story than an on time chapter with a crappy story. So please… don't kill me. Hopefully yall enjoy this chapter as much as the last one, based on the reviews and messages that was the best one thus far. I also received my first hate review, which I decided not to post since all it said was, "This sucks, OC's ruin stories." I'm kinda bummed actually, I was hoping that someone would hate on something wrong with my writing so I could fix it. Instead I got that, to which I have to ask, "If you don't like OC's, why did you read a story that said it had an OC in the description?" I don't know, maybe I'm being defensive of my story but it seemed pretty dumb to me. Anyways, I have a question to ask yall after this chapter so be sure to check out the closing remarks! On with Chapter 4 of Bleach: Salvation!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach… Tite Kubo does… so don't go assuming that I do because assuming makes an ass out of you and Ming. Keiyaku, his Zanpakuto, and the Keshigomu are mine though.**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Shinji led the Visoreds down the steps to their underground training area, his usual grin replaced by a serious visage. Once they had gone far enough into the training area Love dropped Ichigo and Zangetsu to the ground and stepped away.

"Hachi," the blonde former captain said as he turned to his fellow Visored, "put a barrier here too."

"Eh?" Hachi replied with confusion.

"Don't give that 'Eh' shit, there's nothing cute about an old man sayin 'Eh!'" Shinji yelled at him. The other Visoreds and Hachi collectively sweat-dropped at Shinji's sudden change in demeanor. "Then," he continued, "bind Ichigo's arms and legs."

Hachi briefly paused before replying, "Understood." He slammed his hands together, gathering his Spiritual Energy together to raise the necessary barrier. "Wall of steel sand, tower of pious for," Hachi chanted as his Spirit Energy began to coalesce into five discs above his hands, "Distant glimmer of heated steel, as a sincere prayer, this final silence. Bakudou #75, Tetsukan Gochu!" As the large Visored's chant ended he slammed his hands to the ground along with the five discs of his Spirit Energy. As the five discs of Spirit Energy began to glow, five steel pillars chained together appeared above Ichigo's prone form. The pillars fell upon the Substitute Soul Reaper, pinning his arms, legs, and his upper back to the ground. Following that Hachi raised a barrier of orange light around the downed Ichigo, immediately afterwards he and his fellow Visoreds sat down just outside the orange barrier.

"Now we wait," Shinji said as he leaned against a nearby rock.

* * *

"**Yo, it's been long time huh, King?" **said the inner Hollow with a smirk.

Ichigo's scowl deepened and began looking around his inner world, occasionally glancing back at his Hollow to make sure he wasn't doing anything.

"**What's the matter?" **the white Ichigo asked with pseudo concern, **"you seem to be a little confused."**

Finally looking back at his white counterpart, Ichigo glared. "Where's old man Zangetsu?" His Inner Hollow's lips curled into a knowing smile. "Answer me, you bastard!" the orange haired teen yelled as he grabbed his Zanpakuto.

The Hollow raised his hand to point at Ichigo before he replied. **"Isn't that thing you're holding the Zangetsu that you're talking about? Or is it-" **he paused as he reached behind his back and pulled out an inverted version of Ichigo's Zangetsu, **"the one that I'm holding?"**

_A white Zangetsu?! _Ichigo thought in surprise.

The Hollow's smile widened and continued, **"You asked me where Zangetsu is? I'll tell you…" **once again he stopped to add to the already tense atmosphere, **"I'm Zangetsu!" **The Hollow yelled as he launched himself at Ichigo, bringing his Zanpakuto to cleave the Soul Reaper in two. Barely bringing his own Zanpakuto up in time, Ichigo blocked the oncoming attack.

* * *

The Visoreds sat together, staring at the barrier with interest. Hiyori stretched her arms and back as she looked over at Shinji.

"How long is Baldy gonna take?" she asked with a bored expression. Just then, the Spirit Pressure coming off Ichigo skyrocketed causing the ground to seemingly shake. Their eyes widened as the steel pillars atop Ichigo began to shift.

"Looks like you don't have wait anymore Hiyori, it's here now," Shinji said solemnly.

The Substitute Soul Reaper's hands gripped at the ground and his feet tried to find purchase on the dirt beneath them.

"Hey, shouldn't we take away his Zanpakuto?" Mashiro asked nervously.

"No point," Love replied coolly, "it'd just needlessly increase the radius of destruction."

Finally finding the grip required, Ichigo pushed off the ground and raised his head, revealing his Hollow Mask had mostly formed over his face. The maniacal grin on his face sending chills up the collective spines of the Visoreds. As he continued to push himself off the ground the pillars were smashed together, causing them to crumble above Ichigo. With the restraints gone, the now Hollowfied Ichigo gleefully stood and began to look for the first thing to destroy.

"Hachigen, open up the barrier," Lisa said as calmly as she could manage. "Since I'm on guard duty today, we'll start with me."

"Understood," the pink haired Visored said as he opened a small doorway in his barrier for Lisa to walk through.

"Don't off him," Shinji said as his fellow Visored walked into the barrier and the doorway sealed itself.

"Assuming he doesn't 'off' me first," she grumbled to herself.

A Hollowfied Ichigo tracked her movements carefully as he reached down and picked up Zangetsu, smiling all the while. His opened as he allowed a steamy breathe to escape him, he then eagerly leapt at Lisa to tear her to shreds.

The Visored drew her Zanpakuto and dropped its sheath. "I'm Lisa Yadomaru," she said calmly as she pointed her Zanpakuto at the oncoming Ichigo. "Pleased to meet you." As Lisa finished introducing herself, Ichigo swung his Zanpakuto to cut her down.

* * *

Orihime sprinted through the early morning streets of Karakura, doing her best to find Ichigo. She turned the corner and slid to a halt as she came to a warehouse at the end of the street. She put her hands on her knees as she doubled over and began to pant from her long run.

"*pant pant* This must be the *pant* the place. *pant pant*" the auburn haired girl said to herself quietly. Slowly standing up straight again as she caught her breathe, she began to study the exterior of the warehouse. At that moment a cat walked out halfway between Orihime and the warehouse.

_That cat's acting like it's walking against a wall_ she observed. Her grey eyes then turned skyward and noticed a bird flying in the direction of the warehouse then suddenly change course. _It's like they won't go near… no… it's because they can't go near it._ She took a step towards the warehouse._ Cause this massive barrier's in the way. _Orihime put her hand towards what seemed to be empty space until her hand was stopped by an invisible wall. _The barrier is causing this building and its space in time's existence to be fully erased so it's impossible to notice its actuality. Even the mere thought of trying to come close isn't possible because of the mind tricks of the barrier, incredible. But why is such a strong barrier so similar to my Shun Shun Rikka shield? _She pressed her hand forward, and the barrier before her started to part. _I can do this._

* * *

Ichigo and his white counterpart clashed again in the skies above his inner-world, his Hollow half grinning like a mad man while he grimaced with anger and frustration.

"I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!" Ichigo yelled as he pushed his Hollow back. "I don't have time to figure out what you did to Zangetsu," the Hollow's eyes widened in shock and his grin lessened, "and I don't have time to deal with you! I'm ending this now!" Ichigo pointed his Zanpakuto forward with his right arm while his left supported it.

Seeing the stance that the orange haired teen had taken the Hollow's grin returned full force. _This'll get him._ The Hollow then copied Ichigo's stance, causing Ichigo to grit his teeth.

"**You don't have time, huh? You're already jumping to Bankai to end this fight so you can use my power? Well I'm here to tell ya that ain't going to happen!"**

"_**BANKAI!" **_they yelled simultaneously.

* * *

At the same moment, Ichigo's body froze. His eyes grew wide and the maniacal grin that had adorned his face vanished as his Spirit Energy rose. At the center of his chest a hole appeared, seeming to burst from his being. The Visoreds tensed collectively, they knew what was coming next.

"And now the real fun begins," Shinji said with a scowl.

Before Ichigo could continue his Hollow driven rampage soft steps were heard on the stairs leading to the training room. Hachi's eyes widened as he realized, too late, that someone had slipped into his barrier. Love and Hiyori rested a hand on their respective Zanpakuto's, prepared for whatever came down those stairs. Then a pair of shapely legs came into view, followed by an equally shapely body, and finally Orihime stood in full view of the assembled Visoreds. She seemed to scan the room until her eyes fell upon the Hollowfied Substitute within the orange barrier.

"I-Ichigo?" She said with a trembling voice. Ichigo then let out a bone chilling howl as he launched himself yet again at Lisa to continue his onslaught.

* * *

Ichigo and his Hollow's Spirit Energy raged about them as they released their Bankai, proving to be too much for the building they were standing on it finally gave way and crumbled. When the dust and debris finally cleared away, the two stood in their Bankai form. Each wore a full-body jacket with V-shaped neck that left the chest bare and the coat tail edge was jagged. Each also held a daito with a cross guard that had four bent prongs. The only difference between the two was the color, while Ichigo's form consisted of mostly black and red, the Hollow's form was mostly white with black edging.

Without a single word they flew at each other, renewing their attempts to kill the other. When their blades met again an explosion proceeded to shake the area around them. Ichigo glared at his inner Hollow, while it grinned like he was having the time of his life.

"I should've known you'd know Bankai too," the Substitute growled as he pushed the Hollow away.

"Of course I know Bankai, ya moron, I learned it the same time you did," the white counterpart replied with a smirk. Without wasting time Ichigo charged forward and locked blades again with his Hollow. "Get that chip off your shoulder, let's enjoy this!"

"Screw you!" yelled Ichigo before he gathered Spirit Energy into his blade, "Getsuga Tensho!" The Hollow's eyes widened with surprise as the wave attack slammed into him at point blank range, hurtling him through several buildings below. Ichigo chased after with his sword raised to run the Hollow through, but at the last moment the Hollow brought his blade up to block the attack and once again created a deadlock. Ichigo's eyes widened as he realized that his white counterpart had hardly any damage done to him.

"Nice move there, mind if I give it a try?" his Hollow asked with a sadistic grin. Ichigo's eyes widened in fear as the Hollow said, "Getsuga Tensho!" An even larger wave burst from the Hollow's sword, engulfing Ichigo and destroying all buildings behind him.

* * *

"What's happened to Ichigo?!" Orihime yelled at the collective Visoreds.

Shinji, seeming to ignore Orihime altogether, picked at his ear with his pinkie. "Damn, what a pain. Can someone get her out of here please?"

At that moment, inside the barrier, Ichigo's Hollowfied body slammed Lisa into a particularly large body as he let out a chilling howl.

"Ah Hell, Kensei, give her a hand," Shinji said in a somewhat bored tone.

"Damn, I still had two minutes before my rotation started. Whatever, lemme in Hachi," Kensei said as he tossed a watch to Love who caught it without looking over.

"Alright," the pink-haired Visored said he began to open his barrier. Kensei used Flash Step to send Ichigo flying across the battlefield before he could strike a fatal blow to Lisa. The Hollowfied substitute stood up again and cackled with glee and malice. Before he could launch himself at the Visoreds again, a usually soft voice shouted out, "Soten Kisshun, I reject!" A bubble of orange light surrounded Ichigo as he launched himself but he ran into the small barrier and bounced off the surface of it. The Visoreds openly stared at the girl who had her hands extended towards Ichigo, her jaw set in determination. Ichigo stood up once again, seemingly unfazed, and tried once again to break out of the barrier only to be repelled again.

"Ichigo, please stop. I can't hold you like that forever," Orihime said quietly as sweat started to bead on her forehead. The young healer winced as her friend let out a howl of rage and began to throw himself at the insides of his barrier, eventually bouncing around the inside of it as fast as he could go to break free.

The Visoreds continued to stare in amazement as the barrier continued to hold Ichigo, before Shinji finally took charge again. "Well don't just sit there Hachi, help the little lady out."

"U-understood, sir!" Hachi replied as he raised another barrier around Ichigo to help contain him.

_Please, Ichigo, come back._ Orihime thought as she felt the strain of holding the barrier for so long begin to put a strain on her.

* * *

Ichigo's Hollow counterpart looked around at the buildings in bewilderment as an orange glow surrounded them and began to repair them. What startled him even more was when the smoke that had surrounded Ichigo finally cleared, revealing the orange-haired substitute to be completely unharmed.

"The Hell is this shit?!" the Hollow yelled in a panic.

Ichigo looked down at himself, noting that wounds he had felt earlier had vanished. Finally noticing the light that surround him, he looked on in awe. Then he recognized it, this technique that was repairing his soul.

"Orihime…" he whispered to himself.

"Are you shitting me?! That dumb bitch is out there healing you now?! How stu-" The Hollow never got to finish his sentence. At that moment a fist connected with his face sending him flying through a building that was reconstructed almost instantly. When he finally got his bearings again he saw Ichigo charging at him with rage in his eyes.

"DON'T EVER TALK ABOUT HER LIKE THAT!" the orange-haired Soul Reaper brought down his Zanpakuto in an attempt to end his hollow. His white counterpart barely raised his own Zanpakuto in time to block the attack but was sent flying through the air from the force of the blow. Before he could recover he saw a sandaled foot coming towards his head, the Hollow crossed his arms to block the incoming strike. Again he was sent into a building below, leaving him lying in a crater. He slowly got back up, rubbing the back of his head that had been introduced to the building.

"I'm getting tired of this shit," he said dully as he lowered his hand and began to scan for Ichigo again.

"I am too," Ichigo said behind the Hollow, surprising him. He had no sooner said it when he ran his white counterpart through with Zangetsu. His inner Hollow looked over his shoulder, revealing his eyes to be wide with surprise before he closed them and smirked.

"Well whaddya know? You can actually fight when you have the proper motivation," the Hollow opened his eyes to be half lidded. "You know I was going to do this whole spiel about the difference between a King and his Horse but I can see that it's not necessary, King." The Hollow's shihakusho began to change from white to black and he slowly began to dissolve. "You know how to use your instinct. Just know that as soon as you get the slightest bit lazy, that's all it'll take for me to knock you down and trample your skull under my hooves!" His face was half dissolved at this point, and grin was plastered on his face. He reached down and grabbed the Zanpakuto sticking out of his chest. "Think of this as a warning, if you really intend to have control over my power, then until I decide to appear the next time… DO YOUR BEST NOT TO DIE, GOT IT!?" Ichigo's eyes widened at that, who knew his Hollow cared? The last of his inner Hollow faded away and his inner world went white.

* * *

It had been a few minutes since Orihime began to hold Ichigo down with her Shun Shun Rikka, and the young healer was showing signs of fatigue.

"How long has he been Hollowfied, Love?" Kensei asked as he began to stretch in case he was needed to step in.

"About 3 minutes, surprised she made it that long," he said seriously as he watched her.

Cracks made themselves apparent on the surface of her barrier as Ichigo finally began to break through. _I can't hold him any longer! _She realized as he broke through Soten Kisshun technique face first with his mouth opened wide, revealing it to be completely covered by his Hollow mask, and let out a mighty howl of triumph. The young healer collapsed to her knees as the last of her Spirit Energy gave out, breathing heavily from the effort of holding down Ichigo. The seemingly completely Hollowfied substitute stepped out of the last of the barrier that had held him as it crumbled.

"At least she bought us some time," Kensei said as he stepped in front of Ichigo to block his path.

Ichigo's muscles tensed as he prepared to launch at the Visored before him but then froze as his eyes widened. He seemed to fall forward but then it was revealed to be a shell that had surrounded the real Ichigo, who stood in his Bankai form with a Hollow's mask over his face. The shell crumbled to dust as it fell, leaving only the orange-haired substitute standing before them. He made no motion, and made no sound as he stood. He finally began to pitch forward and fall, only to be caught by Orihime who wrapped him in a hug, having to kneel down to keep them both from falling over.

"Thank you… Ori… hime," he said quietly, obviously exhausted.

"Sure," she replied just as quietly back before Ichigo fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

The sound of loud knocking awoke Keiyaku from his sleep. He slowly opened eyes and wiped at them to clear away any tiredness from them.

"Yeah, what is it?" the black and orange haired Arrancar asked.

"You know, I hate to disturb a man who's sleeping," Keiyaku groaned as the voice of Gin Ichimaru came through the door, "but Lord Aizen has scheduled a meeting in five minutes to introduce you to the rest of the Espada. Needless to say, your presence is something of a requirement."

"Gin, shut-up," Keiyaku said as he rolled out of bed.

"Wow, you've only been here for a few hours and you've already picked up on everyone's favorite phrase! It's like you're already part of the family," Gin replied excitedly.

"Whatever, I'll be at the meeting. Now leave," Keiyaku replied curtly.

"Someone sounds upset," the former Captain observed, "one might get the impression that you don't like me."

"Believe me, I wish it were that simple."

Silence met that reply, and then footsteps could be heard moving down the hallway beyond the door. Keiyaku let out a long sigh of relief and moved to the dresser to pick up the mask that he'd laid there. He placed it back on his face and looked at his image in the mirror again, noting how the mask made him seem like an entirely different person then the boy he saw himself as earlier.

"Let's go change history," Keiyaku whispered to himself and his Zanpakuto as he collected them. With that he unlocked the door and stepped out into the hallway. He focused on the location of the throne and with whisper of Shadow Step he left for the throne room of Las Noches.

* * *

"UNACCEPTABLE!" Baraggan yelled through the stunned silence that was the throne room, which was the meeting place of the current Espada and ex-captains. "This measly whelp is not fit to lick my boots, let alone become the Cero Espada! We only have you, Aizen, and this worm's word to believe," he pointed out as indicated Grimmjow who had recovered since the battle.

"Love to see you try to beat him, old man, the kid's got a mean right cross," Grimmjow said with a bored expression with his chin resting in the palm of his hand as his elbow rested on the table. "If you wanna get yerself killed by trying to prove you're stronger than him be my guest, I know I'm not getting on that ride again." THAT got everyone's attention. Grimmjow seldom admitted someone was stronger than he was, he wouldn't even admit it to Starrk, but to so readily admit that he was beaten by someone stronger was unheard of.

Baraggan frowned then growled out, "You forget your place Grimmjow, it is one thing to say that he beat an Espada lowly as you are and another entirely to presume that he could defeat me in battle." Mocking laughter could be heard near the head of the table, as the Espada nervously turned to face the source, they were shocked to see Keiyaku being the source of the laughter.

"That's awesome, I mean I heard how much of a presumptuous ass you were but I didn't know that the stories I've heard don't even come close to the real thing," Keiyaku said as he stifled his laughter with a fist. Any Espada lower than 4, except Grimmjow, began to sweat from the tension that was suddenly in the air.

"You… pathetic… WORM! HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!?" Baraggan yelled at the top of his lungs. He reached down to take his ax Zanpakuto from one of his fraccion when he felt a blade at his throat. Freezing mid movement, his eyes rolled to the side to see who had put the blade to his skin only to find the black and orange-haired Arrancar at the other end of the Zanpakuto.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I don't like starting off my days with a blood bath, it makes you smell funny for the rest of the day." Baraggan tried to not let the surprise show on his face as pressure was applied to the sword, forcing him to sit down once again. "Good, now that that's settled we can hear what Lord Aizen has to say about this." Keiyaku turned back to the head of the table but remained next to Baraggan.

"Thank you, Keiyaku, I can already see that you're going to invaluable at these meetings," Aizen said with a small smile, somewhat grateful for the call to order.

"*cough cough* kiss ass *cough*," Grimmjow wheezed only to get what must have been a glare from Keiyaku, which was difficult to pull off with the top half of his face covered with a mask.

Aizen continued on as if no interruptions had been made, "Let's start from the beginning again. Now then, this is Keiyaku. He has just arrived here in Las Noches after retrieving Grimmjow from an illegal trip to the World of the Living. As punishment he was made to fight Keiyaku with no limitations." At this point Aizen steepled his fingers in front of his face. "Through this battle, it became apparent that Keiyaku had abilities that far surpassed Grimmjows and all of yours as well, deftly beating Grimmjow within an astonishing amount of time. Leaving me with little other choice then to make him the Cero Espada. As Baraggan has just now discovered, Keiyaku's power is a very real thing and shouldn't be taken lightly. Now are there any objections before we move forward with making Keiyaku the Cero Espada officially?"

Silence once again reigned in the throne room, it looked like Baraggan might say something but a cold look from Keiyaku as he laid a hand on his Zanpakuto caused him to stop.

"Actually, I do have one," said a soft monotonous voice. Everyone turned to face the Cuatro Espada, Ulquiorra Cifer. "How are we to know whether or not we can trust him?"

_Well shit._ Keiyaku thought as he dreaded what might come next, but still remained calm outwardly.

"An excellent point Ulquiorra. Despite aiding Grimmjow in the defeat of Ichigo Kurosaki, we have little indication that he is an actual ally," Aizen smiled as he rested his cheek on a fist. "So here is what I propose…"

_Please don't ask me to do what I think you're going to. _Keiyaku groaned internally. As things stood, he was already an enemy to the Soul Society and those in Karakura. If this fell through and he was kicked out of Hueco Mundo then the plan would be ruined and he would have to find another way to achieve his goal. Whatever Aizen suggested he do, he would have to do it entirely without fail.

"Do you remember that directive that I informed you of Ulquiorra?" Aizen received a slight nod from the stoic Arrancar. "Instruct Keiyaku as to the directive and carry it out in five days' time. That should give us time to become acquainted with our newest Espada and enough time to recuperate from the recent battle. For now let's make his promotion final, where would you like your number placed Keiyaku?"

_At least I'm in for now. _Keiyaku thought bitterly as he stepped forward and turned his back to Aizen, lifting his hair slightly to reveal the back of his neck and gestured towards the nape of his neck with a thumb. "Right here will be fine."

Aizen began the descent from his throne, walking until he stood behind Keiyaku and lifted a finger to hover just over the nape of Keiyaku's neck. Focusing his Spirit Energy he formed the number 0. Once it was formed Aizen spoke quietly, only loud enough for the two of them to hear, to the young Espada, "Know this, as soon as I detect any sort of deception, any kind of betrayal, I will personally end your existence."

Keiyaku grimaced and spoke just as quietly as he let his hair fall back into place, "You make it sound like you already believe that I am a traitor."

"Ah, you understand then that I do. Until I see you carry out the directive as instructed by Ulquiorra, I will treat you as a traitor."

"I will carry out your orders, and prove my worth and loyalty to you Lord Aizen."

"Let's hope that you speak the truth," Aizen said with a calm smile as he stepped back towards his throne but remained near the Espada. Speaking loud enough for the rest of the room to hear once again he continued, "You are free to take any Arrancar in Las Noches as your fraccion, save for those who already serve another Espada. You are also free to roam Las Noches and the area surrounding but nothing far beyond that."

"Understood, Lord Aizen."

"Very well, we shall meet again in three days to discuss the directive and the assignments to be given. You are dismissed." With that Aizen turned back to his throne a walked beyond it and out of sight. The Espada remained behind momentarily, casting sidelong glances at each other and the new addition to the Espada. Grimmjow stood and began to walk towards the exit, muttering something along the lines of "Damned place is going to hell," before stepping out. Slowly the other Arrancars began to file out as well, most not saying a word while others muttered complaints about the meeting.

Finally Baraggan brushed past Keiyaku, pausing briefly to look over his shoulder, "Do not step into my domain within Las Noches, the moment you do your life is forfeit."

"Whatever, if you really had the power to defeat me then you would have done it by now ya old codger. Now leave me alone, I've got a few things to consider," the young Espada said as he raised a hand to his chin in a thoughtful gesture. He received a growl from Baraggan before the old King turned and left. Assuming that he was the only one left in the room, Keiyaku turned to leave only to come face to face with the Primera Espada, Coyote Starrk. Jumping back slightly at the sudden closeness, Keiyaku failed to notice the curious expression on Starrk's face.

"Are you really that strong?" he asked.

"Huh?" came Keiyaku's intelligent reply.

"Are you really strong enough to be considered the Cero Espada?"

"I guess I am," replied the black and orange haired teen cautiously. Starrk looked down at the floor as he raised a hand to his chin in thought. After a moment of silence he nodded to himself and offered a hand to Keiyaku.

"I'm Coyote Starrk."

"I'd give you my name but I believe you already know it from this meeting," Keiyaku replied as he firmly shook the Primera's hand.

"You made the meeting interesting at least, I think it's the first one that I haven't slept through in a long time," Starrk responded lazily.

"Thanks, by the way," said a child's voice from an unknown source, "you made my job a lot easier."

Keiyaku wildly looked around, trying to locate the source of the voice before he felt a sharp pain in his shin.

"OW! What the-?"

"I'm down here you jackass!" the high voice said yet again. Looking down as he rubbed his shin to ease the pain, Keiyaku finally saw a girl standing there with her hands on her hips looking annoyed.

"… Well that's adorable," Keiyaku said as a tick mark appeared on the small Arrancars head, "I didn't know that they allowed kids into places like this."

Lilynette kicked at Keiyaku's other shin, much harder than the first time, causing him to start hopping on his other leg and gripped the offended shin.

"OW, dammit stop kicking me!"

"If you weren't such a damned moron then I wouldn't kick you so much!"

"Stop with all the yelling, it's giving me a headache," Starrk interrupted as he began to rub his temples gently.

"Right, sorry about that," Keiyaku said as he lowered his still throbbing leg back to the floor.

"This is Lilynette-," Starrk began to introduce his fraccion before she cut him off.

"I'm Lilynette Gingerbuck, I'm Starrk's fraccion," she said as she threw out her chest proudly.

"Pleased to meet you, shorty," Keiyaku said with a smile as he leaned forward to come closer to Lilynette's height.

"YOU BASTARD, I'M GONNA…" as Lilynette began to unleash a slew of violent and graphic threats, Starrk grabbed her from behind to prevent her from attacking Keiyaku again.

"She's going to be at this for a while," the Primera said lazily.

Lilynette paused in her tirade to shout, "LEMME GO STARRK!" before reengaging in her death threats with renewed vigor.

"If you ever need anything, Keiyaku, just let me know," Starrk said before he used sonido and was gone.

Finally alone in the throne room, Keiyaku shook his head as he walked out into the hallway. _Today was eventful, never would've guessed that I'd be making enemies __**and**__ friends. Things are certainly different here than what they were. I can only hope that tomorrow brings better things._ The new Cero Espada continued his thoughts as he began to wander aimlessly through the halls of Las Noches.

**End Chapter 4**

* * *

**A/N: Aaaand done with that one, what a pain. I hope yall enjoyed this chapter because I enjoyed writing it… as long as could be enjoyed at least. Ok, time for that question. First of all, I do plan on writing a prequel and a sequel to this story. I already have all of Keiyaku's past figured out, but it's his future that I'm having issues with. So I want to ask yall before I move forward with this, would you rather read Keiyaku's past or would you like to read what happens next? I know that's a long way from now but I would like to start getting some thoughts on paper while they come to me. Another quick question, if Keiyaku was to go to another universe which anime would you like to see him go to after this? Of course if you would rather he just stayed in the Bleach universe then that's ok too, just let me know what you think through Reviews or PM's. Thanks for being patient with me!**

**Explanations:**

**Imma skip the Definitions portion this time around because there really isn't something that you haven't seen before. However…**

**Ichigo's battle with his Hollow: The way I see it, Ichigo is desperate enough to get stronger that he's beginning to stop caring about what challenges he faces and instead just decides to tackle it. You've probably gone through a similar mindset yourself, you're late for work or something and instead of taking your normal pace you hurry as much as you can and disregard things that would normally bother you. Also, Orihime putting a Soten Kisshun around Ichigo as a barrier. Later in the series, while he's being healed, Ichigo puts a hand against this same technique and it pushed him away from it. It seemed to make sense that Orihime could use it as a means of containment for Ichigo during his training. I promise that their relationship is going to start developing during this stage of the story while Ichigo is training.**

**Till next time, Saddlebags.**


	5. Status Update

Right... That moment when you get on and look at your story, realizing that you haven't written anything since... August of 2014... Good grief it's been a long time. Hate to say it, but this is not an actual chapter. This is an update for this story and others that I've thought about. I have a lot of plans for this story, when I started writing this I knew where I wanted to start and where I wanted to end... nothing to connect the two though. Since I've stopped writing I've been going over what I've written and you can kinda tell that I'm just winging it. I don't want this to be something half-assed or to lose my desire to write over. I want to give a solid, original story. That said, I would like to take this story down, and replace it with a re-write. This Summer, I'm going to have a lot of spare time on my hands so I want to start writing on a regular basis of releasing one chapter per week. However, this isn't the only story I'll be writing. I'm planning on writing another Bleach story alongside this one, and I'm mulling over a RWBY idea. So the good news is that there's more to come! Now, I want your input on this as well. If you would rather that I left this story up and just going like I was, let me know. I personally feel I can do better and I want to share that but if you're attached to what I've already written... Review, PM me, yell at the screen, or message me telepathically. Whatever works for you. Saddlebags out.


End file.
